The Ordinary Life of Saiki Kusuo
by Little Minamino
Summary: After sealing away his powers for good, Saiki Kusuo is ready to begin his life as an ordinary person. Unfortunately, fate has other plans as Dark Reunion finally makes a move in its ultimate goal to rewrite the world. Who new being ordinary was such a disaster? Rated for language, violence, and dark humor. Crossover w/YYH & Puella Magi Madoka Magica Non-psychic!Saiki
1. Pure Coincidence

**Chapter One**

* * *

_My name is Saiki Kusuo; seventeen years old and former psychic. You probably know me from my show or manga, but if not, you can catch up with both by looking up the Disastrous Life of Saiki K. on the internet. Until then, I'll just give you a brief summary of my life so far: being born an all-powerful psychic = a terrible life. _

_You think I'm joking? Go watch my anime (currently available in English and Japanese from Funimation and Netflix), and you'll see just how bad being a psychic can be._

_Anyway, that's all in the past because, as I said, I'm a former psychic now. How? My good for nothing brother, who is apparently good for at least one thing, made a device that can seal my powers. Now I'm an ordinary guy, just like everybody else. _

_Unfortunately, there are people who will probably notice how ordinary I am compared to how unordinary I was, because despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop them from getting close to me back when I wasn't ordinary. So that's where this story begins, with me telling my friends about my past life as a psychic so I can start over with no regrets, and thus begin the Ordinary Life__ of Saiki Kusuo__._

* * *

**Pure Coincidence**

The window breaking was pure coincidence, but it scared the hell out of Kusuo almost more than the bug still loitering on the hallway wall. He stared at the fractured window for what seemed like hours as frantic thoughts raced through his already bug-frazzled mind. He'd sealed his powers, right? They didn't work anymore, right? No foreign voices echoed chaotically through his head, he couldn't see through the walls or the floors or anyone's clothing or skin any longer, and there hadn't been any problems when he met Kaa-san's eyes on his way out the door that morning.

Looking at his hand, Kusuo willed it to turn transparent until he was sure his face was as red from the strain as his hair was pink. Nothing; his hand remained as solid and opaque as any ordinary person's would. So what happened?

Clenching his fist to suppress the nervous tremor that ran up his arm and through his whole body, Kusuo looked around for whatever it was that broke the window because it absolutely couldn't have been him.

_Right_?

The answer lay on the floor behind him where it must have struck the wall and bounced off then rolled across the floor after breaking the window: a baseball.

Kusuo gasped sharply, not realizing he hadn't been breathing until that moment, and doubled over with his hands on his knees as he panted to regain his breath. He hadn't realized how much he feared his powers until that literal heart-stopping moment when he was sure they'd returned. But of course they hadn't. Kusuke had designed the suppressor himself, and the obnoxious blond genius was never wrong.

Still hunched over, Kusuo looked up and wiped a bead of sweat from his chin with the back of his fist. Was this how things were always going to be now? Him jumping at every coincidence thinking his life had devolved back to the nightmare it had been before?

No, no; of course not. He would get used to it eventually, right? Soon, he would be just like every other ordinary person who looked around for an external cause instead of slapping a hand to his thrumming heart to desperately reel in something that no longer existed. After all, Kusuo had seventeen years of conditioning to overcome, and that wouldn't happen overnight. He just needed to practice.

_What kind of freak __has__ to practice being ordinary_?

"Yare, yare." Kusuo straightened. His heart still pounded behind his ribs, and he pressed a hand flat to his chest before raising it to rake through his hair. So far, being ordinary was a bit more troublesome than he'd expected. That was also part of the reason he'd chosen to tell his friends about his powers even though they were gone and no one remembered his incident with the volcano before spring break.

They'd had glimpses of "Ordinary Saiki" before when he'd wear his germanium ring to avoid spoilers for shows or movies or games he'd been wanting to experience first-hand; even Nendou wasn't dense enough not to notice when he jumped half a foot from an unexpected tap on the shoulder. Fortunately, things weren't as bad as they could have been because Kusuo had spent the week between terms out and about the city trying to acclimate to a world full of what basically equated to giant Nendou Bugs. Not an especially appealing mental image by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one he couldn't help but see as he walked the streets with his hands in his pockets and his uncovered eyes darting frantically from one face to the next.

And that right there was another thing he couldn't quite get used to: faces. He had, of course, seen people's faces before, but the glimpses were always so quick and rarely left an impression unless the person stood out in some way. Like Nendou or Teruhashi, for example. Kusuo knew that Nendou was considered a particularly unattractive person while Teruhashi was elevated to near deific status for her good looks, but the concepts of "ugly" and "beautiful" were largely abstract to someone like Kusuo whose vision had cycled through surface, clothes, skin, muscle, and bone so quickly that it really made no difference how someone looked on the outside because everyone looked exactly the same on the inside: gross sacks of bone, tissue, and blood.

It was strange finally seeing the world the way everyone else did, to be able to truly understand when a person was attractive or unattractive or somewhere in the middle, to see colors in a way he'd never experienced as the pigment of skin or hair or eyes shifted subtly from one shade to the next so seamlessly it all seemed to be one single, perfect hue. In a lot of ways, Kusuo felt like a blind person being miraculously healed. Even Nendou's admittedly terrifying visage was a huge improvement on the awkward bone structure and bulging eyes Kusuo had previously seen him as the most.

And then, of course, there was Teruhashi. Kusuo had prepared himself as best he could to come face to face with God's chosen angel. He'd memorized the faces of women and girls who seemed to attract attention and made a note of the things they had in common—facial symmetry, well proportioned bodies, smooth skin, big eyes—and put those observations together with the glimpses he'd gotten of Teruhashi's face overlaid with his memories of her bone structure and musculature. Even if just in his mind, puzzled together from gleaned fragments, Kusuo had to admit that Teruhashi was a formidable foe. If he wasn't careful, she might really get that "offu" she's been working so hard for these last five years.

Even with all his preparation, he still almost said it when she bounced into their new classroom with that impossible smile and shiny aura of perfection. She sat next to him with a gleam in her eye that said she was thanking God for her usual good luck, and he'd stared resolutely forward so he wouldn't stare at her with a stupid gawking face. Because as pretty as Kusuo knew Teruhashi would be, he still wasn't prepared. In this situation, his seventeen years of conditioning were the only thing that kept the "offu" inside his head rather than escaping from his lips.

Miraculously, Teruhashi didn't seem to notice. In fact, she didn't seem at all surprised by his deliberate show of apathy, but then, why should she? As far as Teruhashi knew, nothing had changed, and after five years of repeated behavior, the only really strange thing would be if Kusuo finally gave in and conceded defeat, which would never, ever happen. No matter how beautiful Teruhashi turned out to be.

A shout through the broken window pulled Kusuo from his thoughts, and he looked through the jagged opening to see Takamiya Tashiro, the baseball team's star runner and new team captain, racing up. He skidded to a stop with a cliché cloud of dust trailing behind him and bowed at the most cliché angle possible while rubbing a hand on the back of his head in a cliché show of contrition.

"Man, Saiki, that was way close! Are you okay man? I'm really sorry about that. We got a new kid in the club who's a power-house hitter, but we weren't expecting it to go so far, otherwise, we wouldn't have been practicing in the courtyard while the field is being refurbished."

_What a cliché setup_. Still, Kusuo offered a nod and a dismissive wave. It wasn't like anything actually happened to him outside of a bit of a scare. Takamiya sighed, obviously relieved, and bowed again.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt, man, that would have tanked! But, hey, um, could you throw the ball back?" He lifted his ungloved hand in a half-prayer motion right down the center of his nose, closing his right eye to conclude the cliché pleading pose. "I promise we won't pitch to Kamiya again unless we're behind a fence."

Kusuo shrugged and glanced around again, locating the ball and snatching it up with his left hand. He pitched it with all his strength, uncertain whether he could make it half-way across the yard if he held back even a little. Takamiya's eyes went wide, and he barely got his glove up in time to catch Kusuo's fastball before it smacked him square in the face. Kusuo stared, Takamiya stared, they both looked down at the ball.

"Holy crap, Saiki! That must have been 120 km at least! You should totally join the—!"

"Not interested." Kusuo strode away, ignoring Takamiya's coaxing cries through the broken window. He perked up at what sounded like "coffee jelly" but reminded himself that being in the baseball club would be a huge pain, even without his powers. Besides, he could get way more coffee jelly and other sweets by spending his free time at Café Mami than he ever would by allowing himself to be seduced into the baseball club.

Then again, Kusuo knew himself well enough to realize he would have jumped out the window in an eye blink (of course, it being the second floor he couldn't without his powers) for a chance at coffee jelly if he didn't already have someplace to be. Someplace he was really late to thanks to Takamiya and the baseball club's new fourth batter.

Flexing his fingers and tamping down the creeping suspicion that his fastball was just a little too fast for an ordinary person, Kusuo made his way down the hall to second-year classroom 3. He wasn't entirely sure why he asked everyone to meet him there, most of his friends were in his class again this year so they could just as easily have hung back instead of walking all the way to the second year hall, but this was where everything started, it was only right that it's where everything ended as well.

Standing in front of the closed door, Kusuo took a deep breath and ran through his memorized speech once more in his mind. This was it, the moment of truth. And while he didn't really think they would abandon him, he couldn't stop himself from acknowledging that there was a very good possibility that they wouldn't believe him either. After all, it's one thing to show someone your current psychic powers and another thing entirely to try and prove you used to have psychic powers. At least Aiura, Toritsuka, and Akechi were there to vouch for him.

_Wow, there's something I never thought I'd be grateful for._ Reaching out, Kusuo forced his hand not to shake and slid the door open. The intrigued chatter stopped immediately as his collective friends and acquaintances (read: Toritsuka, Saiko, and Akechi) turned to him with exclamations of surprise and welcome. Though why any of them should be surprised, Kusuo couldn't imagine. He was the one who called them there; of course he was going to show up.

"What took ya so long, buddy?" Nendou called above the rest of the noise. Kusuo looked over and suppressed a flinch when his eyes had to pass Teruhashi on the way. She really was dazzling, wasn't she? How annoying.

"The baseball club broke the window as I walked by."

"Whaaaaat!" Teruhashi was in Kusuo's personal space before he could blink, twisting him this way and that as she searched for what Kusuo assumed was an injury. "Are you okay? Did it hit you? Are you bleeding? Did you get cut? Oh, Saiki-kun, please say you're all right!"

Kusuo was frozen solid, his magenta eyes wide and his mind blank as he bit down on his tongue hard enough he was surprised it wasn't bleeding.

"Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi looked up, her hands grasping his arms through the suddenly too thin material of his uniform jacket. Their eyes caught and both stopped breathing. Teruhashi went red in a wave that started at her feet before ultimately engulfing her to the top of her head with a little puff of steam as her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open in a shocked 'oh'.

"Kyaa!" Teruhashi wheeled back, waving her hands frantically. "I'm sorry, but you know I didn't mean anything by that, I just wanted to make sure you're okay because we're friends, and I care about all of my friends so of course I would care about you—I mean I would care about what happens to you!"

_Offu_. Kusuo bit his tongue harder.

"Calm down, Teruhashi-san." Hairo dropped a hand on her shoulder and smiled, coaxing her out from hiding behind her hands. She peeked through her fingers, still red-faced with the smallest tears clinging to the corners of her eyes in obvious mortification. "I'm sure Saiki is fine, right Saiki?"

Teruhashi curled her fingers over her cheeks and looked Kusuo's way as concern warred with embarrassment on her face. Even without his telepathy, Teruhashi was very easy to read when flustered. It didn't take a psychic or even a genius to realize how worried she'd been and what that could mean. Already, Kuboyasu, Kaidoh, and Yumehara were shooting Kusuo varying degrees of knowing looks.

Ignoring them as best he could, Kusuo met Teruhashi's eye and nodded once. Her face blossomed as she smiled, her relief seeming to materialize as flowers and sparkles floating through the air behind her even as her blush softened but didn't disappear.

"I'm so glad!"

_Offu_.

"Offu!" Every man in the room echoed Kusuo's thought, then immediately got down to business as if the response was second nature. Which, at this point, it really was.

"So what'd you call us out for, Saiki?" Kuboyasu asked, his face taking on the gruff lines and shadows of his former yankee personality as he held up his hand in the gang-sign for cash. "You in some sort of trouble? Need us to clean things up for you?"

"Naturally, Saiki pulled us all together because we're the only ones who know of the true threat that is Dark Reunion and their intentions to purge this world. He has news to share that shall shake the very foundations of the earth, and it is only I, the Jet-Black Wings, who am powerful enough to right this monumental wrong!"

_Not completely wrong, but still way off_.

More guesses flew his way, all wrong, until Kusuo found it difficult to even attempt to get a word in edgewise. He knew from experience that things would continue to spiral out of control for a good five to ten minutes longer as each person grew so invested in their own idea of what he'd come to say that, eventually, they would start squaring off. As expected, Nendou and Kaidoh ended up in each other's faces, both mocking and intimidating (or at least trying to in Kaidoh's case) each other into dropping their own 'ludicrous theory' and instead recognize theirs as the right answer. It really didn't matter who "their" was at any given moment; everyone's ideas were stupid.

"Ano, mina-san." Yumehara raised her hand with a less blinding smile than Teruhashi's that still managed to be cute enough in its own way to evoke at least one imaginary flower. At the very least, it was enough to stop Kaidoh in his tracks. "Maybe we should let Saiki-kun tell us the actual reason we're here instead of speculating? That would resolve everything much faster."

_Ah, Yumehara_. Ever the voice of reason in situations not directly related to herself. Kusuo really did feel badly about scratching her love confession from history. He'd have to find a way to make it up to her.

Kusuo nodded his thanks to her for resolving the situation before it got any further out of hand.

"Uwaaaahhhh!" Toritsuka threw a hand over his eyes while the other flailed madly in Kusuo's direction. "Saiki! What the hell, man? Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

Kusuo eyed the medium skeptically. _You only just noticed now? We're in the same class, dumbass. Even more, you __**knew**__ what I had planned._

"Hey man, not cool." Hairo's hand dropped onto Toritsuka's shoulder this time, his reddish-brown eyes smoldering with an inner fire. "There's nothing wrong with a guy deciding to wear contacts."

_Why are you getting all fired up about something that doesn't even matter?_

Aiura looked around the room, surprised. Out of everyone here, she was the only one who ended up in a different class, so he couldn't entirely fault her for not noticing his new glasses-free look until now. Still, it was kind of surprising when she seemed to notice every other little thing about him at the most inconvenient times.

"Ne, Kusuo," Aiura said, her voice and visage unusually somber, which caused Teruhashi to freeze with Kusuo's name half-way on her lips from sheer shock. Kusuo didn't shudder at the sound of Teruhashi almost saying his name, he was just a little cold from no longer having his pyrokinesis. "What happened to your powers?"

"Eh?" Kuboyasu said, his brow furrowed almost ominously. "Powers?"

"Yare, yare." Kusuo shot Aiura a mild glare, but he couldn't be too upset. She'd put this meeting back on track, even if she'd gotten to the heart of it a bit more quickly than he'd planned. Sighing, Kusuo closed his eyes for a moment to center himself before snapping them open and meeting the eyes of everyone in the room one at a time.

"Mina-san." Kusuo bowed a full 70-degrees. "Gomen nasai."

* * *

Jaded Readers: Oh look! Kaliea-chan is uploading another story that she will promise to finish for years on end only to abandon halfway through! Yay!

Kaliea: (bows 70-degrees) I apologize in advance.

Now that that's out of the way, I really do intend to finish this story (really). First off, I'm in a bit of a slump with my writing where I need something fun to do. As much as I love writing for my job, it can be very un-fun; hence my triumphant (?) return to fanfiction!

Secondly, I recently discovered the Disasterous Life of Saiki K. on Netflix, and I'm totally in enamored! Yu Yu Hakusho will always be my Shounen love, but Saiki K. is pretty high up there.

Thirdly, there are a lot of really crazy things I want to do with this story, things that I don't think I could get away with in any other story but which the comedic and random nature of the source material might make allowances for. The show (and manga) tends to throw things at us out of nowhere, so I figure it wouldn't be too strange to have my fanfiction do the same. That said, this is primarily a "serious" depiction of Saiki K., or as serious as it can be with some of the things I have planned, and let me tell you, I have some _plans_. Better still, as I've been writing, things I didn't even consider have jumped right onto the screen to shock and amuse even me, so there's that too.

Just an FYI, when something crazy happens in a chapter, I intend to let you know in the author's note if it was intentional or not, what brought it about, and what my intentions are (at least in as far as there are no spoilers). Please feel free to ask me questions as I always answer my named reviewers, though I may decline to answer a specific question based on where we are in the story.

Love and kisses to you all; readers and reviewers are a fanfiction author's bread and butter :)

Happy reading!

Cassiopeia

Ps. Please forgive my mistakes; I mostly write and edit this in the middle of the night when I can't sleep, so there will be grammar/spelling/sentencing mistakes. Again, I apologize in advance.


	2. Everyone Has Secrets

**Chapter Two**

* * *

_I know, you're expecting a big long explanation of everything that happened from the manga and show, right? But why would I want to relive it all when I don't have to? If you're really curious, go look it up for yourself. That would be more fun for you, anyway. For now, let's just say that the last five years is a year I never again want to repeat and leave it at that._

_Naturally, I had expectations for telling my friends about my former powers, and it doesn't hurt that I've already told them about it once and hinted at it another time (never mind that both times were erased from Time itself), so despite my nerves, I still feel pretty confident. The worst that will happen is that no one believes me, and why should I care about that? _

_Honestly, it would be easier if they didn't believe me since that would stave off any awkward or unwanted questions. Unfortunately, it's too much to hope that I'll sound crazy enough to drive them off. At this point, I doubt there's anything I can do to make them leave me alone short of getting rid of them myself, and as I already said, I don't have my powers anymore. So, I guess that means I'm stuck with everyone. Yare, yare._

* * *

**Everyone Has Secrets**

"Ehhhh!?"

Kusuo didn't need telepathy to read his friends' minds as they shared bewildered glances between themselves. He couldn't blame them. What sort of person admits to having psychic powers in the same breath they admitted to getting rid of them for good? As expected, those not previously in the know were skeptical while Toritsuka had sequestered himself in a corner, his hair white from shock, mumbling about how unfair it was that Kusuo gave away his powers and didn't he understand how lucky he was?

"Youth is wasted on the young!" Toritsuka lamented, making a vein pop on Kusuo's forehead.

_You're younger than me!_

Akechi, as expected of him, stood in the background with one finger in the air and boasted about how he'd known all along, having figured it out in kindergarten before eventually tracking Kusuo down near the end of their second year to confront him on it and receive confirmation that Kusuo really was psychic and could do all sorts of amazing things like bend spoons and levitate spoons and call spoons into his hand and set spoons down on the table—

Kusuo's brow twitched._ That last one is something anyone can do_!

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kaidoh cut his hand through the air, his voice taking on that deeper, more authoritative tone he always used when channeling the Jet-Black Wings. "You expect us to believe you had psychic powers all this time and just happened to get rid of them right before the start of term? I don't know what sort of game you're playing, but you need to step back and take a long hard look at reality!"

Another vein popped on Kusuo's head. _I don't want to hear those things from you!_

"Now hold on, you guys, let's think about this." Hairo had one arm crossed over his chest to support his other elbow as he pressed his fingers to his chin in thought. "Doesn't this explain some things?"

"Eh?" Yumehara said, leaning forward a bit with her hands clasped behind her back. "What sort of things?"

Akechi launched into his exhaustive list of evidence, but everyone managed to avoid his over-packed speech bubbles to focus on Hairo.

"Like what happened back on sports day during second year." Hairo pointed upward as if his friends could see the memory bubble forming over his head. Kusuo was almost surprised when one didn't actually form, reminding himself that he no longer had telepathy and this was his new normal. "Remember how Saiki just collapsed after that thing was taken out of his head? And then he took off flying during the relay race without breaking a single sweat."

"That's true, isn't it?" Yumehara put a finger to her lips, her eyes wandering to the ceiling. "There were those times too, weren't there? I wondered how it all turned out so badly…"

"How what turned out badly?" Kaidoh said, his brow furrowed as he took a step closer to Yumehara with a stern frown. "Did something happen to you, Yumehara-san?"

Yumehara went red and waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no, no, no! It's nothing like that! Just a misunderstanding between Saiki-kun and I that got resolved; I'm just realizing that there were some weird things about it, is all."

Kaidoh didn't look convinced, but a sudden spark on his face told Kusuo that something else had suddenly occurred to him. Kaidoh shot a sharp look over his shoulder, meeting Kusuo's eyes with an icy stare that somehow seemed to look right through him. If Kusuo didn't already know for absolutely certain that Kaidoh was a harmless Chihuahua, he might have felt intimidated.

_Then again, no_.

"That snake, right at the start of second term after summer break our second year. Was that you?"

Kusuo nodded once. Kaidoh bit his thumb and looked away, minute tremors running through his body. Nervousness fluttered in Kusuo's stomach, and he wondered if that could possibly be taken as a good sign, even though he had no idea how. From that first revelation back in the alternate past, Kaidoh had been Kusuo's greatest worry after Teruhashi. He really had no idea how to predict the way the chuunibyo would act. He had even less clue now that he couldn't read his friend's mind.

Akechi being Akechi couldn't read the atmosphere and instead hovered around Kaidoh, bombarding him with questions about the incident.

"Hey, now that you mention it, wasn't there that other time too?" Kuboyasu fiddled with his glasses, not seeming to notice Kaidoh's distress as Akechi was in the way. "Remember when we built that treehouse together? Saiki didn't really do much, but after we finished it and decided to try it out, it collapsed right after he passed out, yeah?" Kuboyasu met Kusuo's eye. "Does that mean you were holding it up?"

Kusuo nodded once. Kuboyasu threw his head back and laughed. "Man, what a riot! Could you imagine how bad it would be if we'd climbed up inside it before you went down like that? We'd all be deader than roadkill!"

_How could anyone be more dead than something that's already dead?_

"My ship!" Saiko leaped to his feet and stomped forward to grasp Kusuo's shirt in both fists. "Was it you who destroyed my darling yacht and left us stranded on that island?"

"Ah." Kusuo looked away with a bland expression. "That was Teruhashi-san's fault."

"Eh?" Teruhashi pointed at herself with both hands. "Wh-what did I do?"

Her face was glowing and her eyes were sparkling so much Kusuo was pretty sure he could guess what was running through her head: _Am I really so distracting that Saiki-kun lost control of his powers around me_?

Kusuo rolled his eyes and pointed at his head, not bothering to shake himself loose from Saiko's grip. The rich snob 'tch'ed and let him go anyway, stocking back to his chair with a muttered monetary excuse that made no sense whatsoever.

Tapping the left side of his head twice, Kusuo said, "You pulled out my limiter. _Again_."

"Again?" Teruhashi put a finger to her lips as she thought. "Ah!" Pointing into the air, she beamed. "During our first school trip to Okinawa! You fell asleep on the beach and…and…" Once again, a brilliant red blush rolled across Teruhashi's skin from feet to scalp and her pointing finger quickly wilted. "I…you…that bear? You saved me from a bear?"

"Eh?!"

"Teruhashi-san was attacked by a bear and Kusuo-kun saved her? Of course he did, because Kusuo-kun is amazing! He saved me too, lots of times, back in elementary school when I was being bullied, though there were a few times I saved myself by wetting my pants…" Akechi yammered on and on, but Kusuo ignored him; instead, nodding once at Teruhashi, whose blush burned so hot she started smoking.

"So, does that mean I…wasn't lucid dreaming?"

Kusuo nodded once.

"Kyaaa! Nooo!" Teruhashi put both hands to her face and spun around as if that was enough to hide her from view. "How could I make such a fool of myself; demanding to be in a palace and telling you to get down on your knees and 'offu'! Wait!" She started out of her wailing so suddenly a ?! may as well have appeared over her head. She spun around and pointed at Kusuo with a triumphant smirk. "That means I really did beat you Saiki Kunio! I saw and heard you say 'offu'; it definitely wasn't a dream!"

_Maybe, but it wasn't me either_.

Shaking his head, Kusuo pointed to Toritsuka who still sat huddled in a corner. Somehow, he seemed to have aged several decades in the last few minutes.

Teruhashi's head tilted in confusion. "What about him?"

"Ah!" Aiura slapped her fist into her palm with an audible 'poof'. "He must have used the idiot as a body double, overlaying his face on the idiot using his power of hallucination."

"Hallucination?"

_It really is irritating how they keep speaking in tandem like that_.

Except Akechi, who was explaining the power to anyone he could force to listen, and Kaidoh, who was still silently shaking.

"How many powers do…did…you have, Saiki?"

Kusuo eyed Hairo for a long moment, his head tilting in thought, before he finally shrugged. He honestly had no clue. Sometimes it seemed like a new power popped up every day, though most of them were useless. How was the ability to create mosaic tiles around someone even remotely helpful?

"You don't _know_?" Kuboyasu scratched at his head, looking from one friend to the next until he landed on Mera who was taking all of this with a rather startling level of acceptance that bordered on apathy. Wait, was she drooling?

_She's not even paying attention_!

Kusuo wasn't sure if that was better or worse than Nendou who was staring with a blank look on his face while picking his nose.

_Does he even understand what's going on?_

"I knew a lot of my powers—telepathy, super strength, petrification, x-ray vision, teleportation, etc.—but most of the time, I didn't realize I had a power until I needed it."

"Ah." Hairo crossed his arms and nodded knowingly. "Like Superman."

_Actually, now that he mentions it_…Kusuo sweat-dropped.

"How could you?" Kaidoh spoke so softly, Kusuo almost didn't hear it—no one else seemed to. But then, Kusuo had been focusing on his chuunibyo friend almost as intently as he'd been focusing on Teruhashi, trying to ascertain their thoughts based on their reactions. It wasn't working as well with Kaidoh as it was with Teruhashi.

"Eh?" Hairo lowered his arms and glanced over. "You say something, Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh clenched his fists with a 'tch' and dragged his head up to glare at Kusuo. He had tears in his eyes. "How could you keep this a secret? I thought we were friends! Friends don't keep secrets from each other, Saiki!" A shocked shadow passed over his face. "Is that it then? We were never really friends? You just played me like a sucker from the beginning, probably laughing at me behind my back because I was so useless and pathetic! You—!"

"Kaidoh-kun!" Yumehara said, loud enough to jerk Kaidoh from his impassioned speech. He looked over at her, still leaning forward in a near fighting stance. Yumehara smiled brightly, her hands clasped behind her back as nervous lines creased the edges of her eyes and smile. "I love you, Kaidoh-kun."

Kaidoh burst into an ember glow as he stared at Yumehara, speechless. "Offu!"

_Well, almost speechless_. Kusuo forced down the small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. _I guess I don't need to set things right for Yumehara-san after all_.

"I'm sorry I kept it a secret." Yumehara looked down, fiddling with the ends of her short hair as a soft blush tinged her cheeks. "But I had to. If I told you two years ago or six months ago or even a week ago, it would have troubled you, right? We wouldn't have been able to become such good friends."

Despite his near petrified state, Kaidoh managed a jerky nod. A sad shadow fell across Yumehara's face, dimming her smile just a bit. Her eyes were glazed over and she was shaking slightly. Kusuo didn't need telepathy to know she was a single thread away from breaking into tears over Kaidoh's perceived rejection.

"Everyone has secrets they can't tell sometimes, right Kokomi?"

"Eh? Me?" Teruhashi pointed at herself before pushing her hand through her hair with a shy smile. "Um, yeah, I guess that's tr—" Teruhashi froze, all the color draining from her face, and Kusuo drew a sharp breath as a wave of icy cold crashed over him.

_She knows._

"I don't get what everyone's all worked up about, buddy is still buddy, right? The only thing that's changed is us."

_Not exactly right, but the sentiment is appreciated_. Now Kusuo just needed everyone else to accept Nendou's profession and Yumehara's confession for what they were and leave. Everyone except Teruhashi, that is; she needed to stay right where she was.

"Right!" Mera said, snapping from whatever food-induced daydream she'd been indulging. "Saiki-san must have used a lot of his powers to help us, didn't he? It could only be because of him that we survived the shipwreck."

"I don't know about any of that," Aiura put in. "But he definitely saved Chiyo-pipi's life when she fell off the school roof."

"What!" Kaidoh looked at Aiura in horror before racing over to grasp Yumehara by her upper arms, almost shaking her. "Why didn't you say you fell off the roof?! When did that happen? Are you okay?"

"Obviously she's fine," Aiura muttered, rolling her eyes, but only Kusuo seemed to hear.

"Oh! Ah…um…" Yumehara managed to snap out of her love daze just long enough to set a crooked finger beneath her lower lip. "I thought that was a dream…"

She looked over at him, and Kusuo stiffened, certain her fickle affection was about to transfer back to him. Instead, she shocked him when she took Kaidoh's hand in a tight grip and pulled back just far enough to bow.

"Thank you, Saiki-kun, for saving my life." She straightened up with another bright smile, though her grip on Kaidoh never loosened. "I'm glad to be alive so I could tell Kaidoh-kun my feelings."

"O-offu!" Still, despite his returned blush and awkward stare in the opposite direction, Kaidoh never once let go of Yumehara's hand. Kusuo smiled, his tense muscles relaxing, and returned Yumehara's bow.

"No need for thanks. I'm glad I made it in time, Yumehara-san."

"Oh, please, call me Chiyo! After all, we're friends, right, Kusuo-kun?"

Kusuo smiled and nodded. "Of course, Chiyo-san."

"O-oi!" Kaidoh brought his face so close to Yumehara's their noses almost brushed. The girl went red as a tomato, but Kaidoh didn't seem to notice as he jabbed a finger toward his face. "What about me? Why am I still Kaidoh when he's Kusuo? Y-you're d-d-dating m-m-m-m…"

The poor boy ran out of steam as he realized what he was saying, his whole body trembling with realization. But he still didn't let go of Yumehara's hand.

"Way to go, chibi!" Nendou dropped his arm around Kaidoh's shoulders and gave him a noogie. "Getting yourself such a cute girlfriend!"

"Sh-shut up!"

"Well, I must say I never expected Shun to get a girlfriend before me." Kuboyasu smirked and put a fist to his chin. "I guess you win this round, kid."

"What are you even talking about? We were never competing!"

Giggling, Mera offered Yumehara her congratulations while Saiko scoffed about peasants being fit for peasants. Toritsuka must have come out of his self-induced coma long enough to hear Kaidoh and Yumehara's happy news because he'd now sunk into an even deeper depression, a black miasma nearly visible around him as he muttered about the unfairness of Chihuahuas winning over princesses with their pathetic cuteness.

"Oh, hey! We should get ramen to celebrate! Chibi's buying!"

"Oi, Nendou! Why do I have to pay?"

"Eh?" Nendou's face took on an ominous shadow. "You're the one with the girlfriend. Isn't it obvious you should pay?"

"O-of course I'll pay for _her_, but why should I pay for you lot, too?"

"Oh, Shun!" Yumehara said, her free hand on her cheek as she practically bubbled with happiness.

"Sh-Sh-Shu-!" Kaidoh turned completely white and passed out, stiff as a board. Still, he never let go of Yumehara's hand. Which only meant she got dragged to the floor with him.

"Uwah! Shun? Shun, are you okay?"

Kuboyasu chuckled and stepped forward to lift Kaidoh easily into his arms. Yumehara reeled back, one arm raised as she looked at him in shock. "A p-princess carry—!"

"I'll take him to the infirmary," Kuboyasu said, his eyes gleaming mischievously at Yumehara. "You should probably come along. _Shun_ will be upset if he wakes up and you're not there."

Yumehara blushed but nodded mutely and followed along behind as Hairo opened the door for Kuboyasu.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Kuboyasu paused at the door and looked back at Kusuo over his shoulder. "Don't think I didn't notice that super-strength bit. You owe me a fight, man."

A wry smile tugged at Kusuo's lips and he huffed with a shake of his head. _What part of 'my powers are gone' does this idiot not understand?_

Kuboyasu disappeared down the hall with Kaidoh still in his arms and Yumehara trailing nervously behind.

"I guess I should go too," Hairo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I have tennis and judo practice after school, and Matsuzaki-sensei will be upset if I'm late." He offered Kusuo a grin and held out his hand. "I always knew there was something special about you, Saiki. I'm just sorry I couldn't get you to bring it out sooner. You would have been a truly worthy rival."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched, but he accepted Hairo's handshake anyway. _I'm not crippled or dead, you moron_.

Mera excused herself next saying she needed to get to work, but she offered him an almost demonic grin when saying he should come visit soon for some coffee jelly. The cut of her eyes to Teruhashi's stone-still figure wasn't lost on Kusuo, but he ignored it as best he could even as she laughed like an upper-class lady, her "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!" trailing down the hall until she burst into a riotous fit of coughing.

Saiko left next, tossing his perfectly shaped bangs as he insulted Kusuo for being a peasant in the same breath he invited _(?)_ Kusuo back to his house for another boring visit.

_Fat chance of that_. Well, not unless Saiko provided another room made of sweets.

Only Aiura, Akechi, Toritsuka, and Nendou remained with Toritsuka still moping in the corner and Nendou turning his pleas for ramen onto Kusuo.

"Well, I guess that just leaves you and me, right buddy? I found this great place by the station where…" Nendou kept talking, but Kusuo tuned him out. He only had eyes and ears for one person right now, and that person was in no way, shape, or form Nendou Riki.

"Oi, Aiura."

"Hai, hai," Aiura said, her tone distinctly melancholy. She stalked over to Toritsuka and yanked him out of the corner by his ear.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Toritsuka leaped to his feet, clutching Aiura's hand that was pinching his ear. "What the hell!"

"We're leaving, idiot," she said crossly before turning a bright (painfully fake) smile on Nendou. "Ne, Nendou-san, Toritsuka said he'll treat you to ramen just for today, so come with us, okay?"

"Eh? Really? You're paying? I guess I can go then. You coming, buddy? The purple haired idiot is paying."

"I don't want to be called an idiot by you!"

"No," Kusuo said, his eyes still pinned on Teruhashi just in case she tried to make a break for it. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Well, all right then; it's your loss."

_I hope to God that's not true._

Kusuo didn't know why he thought that, he wasn't even really sure what he meant by it. All he knew is that Nendou's announcement sent a shock of icy pain through his heart. Maybe he was coming down with something? Without his pyrokinesis to kill any bacteria or viruses, he could easily get sick now. In fact, he may get sick even worse than normal people because his immune system never had a chance to build itself a proper defense.

_Problems for another day._

Aiura cast Kusuo one last melancholy look as she snagged Akechi's upraised arm, dragging the monologue-ing blond behind her with a dull "hai, hai" as she slid the door open with one foot. Nendou was last to leave, shut it behind him with a _crack_.

Silence followed the closing door; a deep, suffocating silence. Nothing rustled or shifted from their clothing to their breathing; even the steady tick-tick-tick of the analog clock over the chalkboard seemed conspicuously silent. Kusuo caught himself wishing for the background chatter of five thousand mental voices, though he knew if he could, he would block them all out and focus on just one. The only one that mattered. Because for the first time since that smoldering August day, Kusuo had no idea what Teruhashi was thinking.

Seconds stretched into minutes and minutes into hours as the silence between them grew ever deeper and wider. Should he say something? What could he say? That he was sorry?

_I already did that._

But would it really hurt anything to do it again?

Clearing his throat, Kusuo pushed down his pride and took the plunge. "Teruhashi—"

"I need to go too. Brother will be worried if I'm late getting home."

Kusuo blinked, startled by the soft, dry sound of Teruhashi's voice. She sounded so raw, almost broken. The pain in his heart struck again, this time lingering like the twist of a knife. He took a step closer, and her sharp flinch hit him like his own psychic powered punch to the gut.

"Teruhashi-san, let me explain—"

"No need; I understand perfectly." She brushed passed him, her blue hair streaming in her haste to reach the door, and Kusuo felt a sharp swoop in his stomach that left him feeling empty and panicked. If he let her walk out that door right now, he knew—knew it as surely as if he'd used his powers—that he would never get the chance to explain. He would be lucky if she ever talked to him again, ever looked at him. Would she even stand to stay in the same class? In the same school?

Kusuo's hand shot out on its own, snagging her wrist and pulling her toward him as he said, "Teruhashi-san, wait."

Teruhashi swung around, using the momentum of his pull for a sharper turn. Her arm came up and he saw it swing. If he had his powers, he could have stopped her a hundred and twenty-seven different ways. But he didn't have his powers anymore, and for the first time, Saiki Kusuo felt the flat of a palm connect with his face in a resounding crack.

* * *

Kaliea: So I took the reactions from the anime and manga almost verbatim because I feel like not much would change between his friends finding out he has a secret and wanting to know about it to them finding out he has a secret and actually being told about it. That said, there wasn't much done to explore Kokomi's reaction, which makes sense as the anime and manga are a comedy, but I wanted to try for a bit more of a dramatic, realistic look at how someone might react after learning their crush deliberately ignored and even sabotaged their feelings for over a year (at least as far as Teruhashi is concerned). Things get a bit more heated in the next chapter, which surprised me as much as I think it will surprise you, but I fixed the OOC-ness as best I could.

Happy reading!


	3. The End of the World

**Chapter Three**

* * *

_Yare, yare. This wouldn't have happened with telepathy._

* * *

**The End of the World**

Teruhashi was crying. They weren't the soft, lovely Angel Tears he'd seen her employ against his idiot older brother. Those she'd pulled out of her manipulative arsenal for the express purpose of avenging herself on said idiot older brother. No, her tears now were fat, welling things that turned her eyes red and made her nose run.

There was no glitter of the overhead lights off the beaded droplets to accentuate the perfect paleness of her flawless skin, no lightly pouted lower lip meant to emphasize her vulnerability, no soft flush of pink across the apples of her cheeks. Instead, Teruhashi scowled up at him, her whole lower jaw trembling as the muscles in her face pulled her mouth downward in an unwilling frown. Her perfect skin was blotched with angry red that matched the blazing fire in her bloodshot eyes. Strands of blue hair were plastered to her salt-streaked cheeks as she shoved the back of her hand across her snotty nose. For what was likely the first time in her life, Teruhashi Kokomi was full-on ugly crying and not bothering in the least to hide it.

There was something seriously wrong with Kusuo that he'd never found Teruhashi more attractive than she was in this moment looking her absolute worst.

"Teruhashi-san." Kusuo grasped both of her wrists in a careful but insistent grip. She was one of the few friends he had and one of the fewer he genuinely cared about, he wasn't letting her leave without a chance to offer a proper explanation. "I needed you to hate me."

Teruhashi gaped, her mouth hanging open awkwardly as she worked through his words with silent outrage. "Well congratulations then, Saiki-san, because you've certainly succeeded!"

Kusuo tamped down on a flinch at her sudden formality. He'd always been –kun to her before, though she'd never actually asked. He wanted to know what that sudden change meant, was it just a moment of spite the way his parents would snipe at each other in the heat of the moment even though they never meant a word? Or did she actually intend to cut him out of her circle of friends? To go back to being acquaintances or worse? He'd never wanted his telepathy more than he did in this moment, staring into Teruhashi's enraged indigo eyes.

_What are you thinking, Teruhashi-san?_

"Not now," Kusuo forced out, unused to talking about anything, never mind his personal thoughts and feelings that even he wasn't entirely sure about. "Back then, before, when I still had my powers."

"Your powers of, what was it again?" Her tone turned mocking. "Super strength, hallucination, _telepathy_?"

"Teruhashi—"

"You knew!" Teruhashi wailed, jerking her arms in an attempt to break away, but super strength or no, Kusuo was still surprisingly strong. Maybe from all the rigorous exercise he put himself through, maybe as a side effect of channeling so much power for his whole life. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. Teruhashi wasn't leaving unless he let her go.

"You knew how I felt this whole time, and you not only didn't say anything, you used it against me!"

Kusuo opened his mouth, unsure of what to say but still knowing he had to say something. Teruhashi cut him off with a glare and another jerk of her wrists.

"Oh, don't even bother trying to deny it! I remember, Kusuo—"

Kusuo's heart lurched. It was the first time she'd ever used his name, his real name, as even when she utilized his given name it was always using the alternate kanji reading "Kunio". What was this girl trying to do to him? First she implied they were nothing but casual acquaintances and now, by using his given name without honorifics, she'd practically announced they were intimately involved!

_Did she even notice?!_

"—I remember when I first saw you on the street and how you ignored me—yes, I realize it now, you were _ignoring_ me! You dodged around me, barely bowed enough for even a casual greeting, and then you vanished! You let me think I was hallucinating! You let me think I was falling in love with you!"

Kusuo didn't think his heart could hurt worse if someone reached into his chest and yanked it out. How did ordinary people deal with things like this? How did they handle not knowing the truth? And how would Kusuo handle it for the rest of his life when not knowing was killing him _now_?

_What are you thinking?_

"And the worst part is I _did_! I fell madly, crazily, head-over-heels in love with you! I saw your good points and your bad points, all the things about you I like and hate the most, and I love all of it! I love how you have a sweet tooth and a bad attitude and your quiet regard for others even when you pretend you couldn't care less about any of them! I love your stupid pink hair and your gorgeous magenta eyes and your face that should be so plain but is somehow so handsome! I love your mom and dad who are so much more present and loving and accepting than mine! I even tolerate your stupid brother, if only because he's yours!"

_No need to go that far. _But that thought was barely a fleeting whisper across his mind because Teruhashi had moved beyond ugly crying and right into hacking, body wracking, heart-wrenching sobs. She leaned into his chest and wailed, pounding once, twice, three times because Kusuo had finally let go of her wrists so he could take her by her shoulders. He didn't try to draw her closer, but he didn't push her away either.

"I love everything about you, Kusuo, _everything_!" She looked up then, meeting him squarely in the eye before she sobbed and struck the final blow. "I love you so much that I _hate_ you!"

He had absolutely no intention of doing it. None. Zilch. Nada, and any other synonym one could feasibly apply. Kusuo finally had the ordinary life he'd craved for so, so long, and he had every intention of living that life as ordinarily as possible. He wanted to attend an ordinary college to get an ordinary degree doing an ordinary job where he'd meet an ordinary woman and have an ordinary marriage that resulted in ordinary kids and an ordinary house with an ordinary mortgage. And absolutely none of those ordinary scenarios could be completed by being anything more than Teruhashi's ordinary friend.

Eventually, she would grow out of her love for him when they went to different universities and she found someone who could live up to her impossible standards of a handsome face with a stand-out job, a big house, and an annual income of four-million yen. She'd live her life as a celebrity wife in the lap of luxury and forget all about the plain, ordinary boy she thought she'd loved so much back in high school, and that would be that.

_The hell it will!_

His hands tightening on Teruhashi's shoulders, he did the only thing that made sense: he drew her close, leaned down, and kissed her.

Forget stars, universes exploded behind Kusuo's closed eyes as he relished the soft press of Teruhashi's mouth against his. He had the distant sensation of salt on his lips and the even more distant hope that it was tears he tasted and not snot from her runny nose, but the overall sensation of being pressed against her, chest to chest and mouth to mouth, as she clung to his uniform jacket with a startling level of strength and kissed him back with a near terrifying fervor drowned out absolutely everything else. Kusuo had never been drunk before, but he imagined it was a lot like the sensation of kissing Teruhashi Kokomi.

"I'm sorry," he gasped between progressively heady kisses. "I couldn't—" _return your feelings_.

"You shouldn't—" _have lied to me_.

_I_ "—didn't."

"You knew—" _and said nothing. That's a lie_ "—of omission."

It was the most bizarre form of telepathy Kusuo had ever experienced if only because he knew it _wasn't_ telepathy. They were filling in each other's blanks even as they clung desperately to one another, their mouths pushing and pulling in a previously unknown rhythm that was somehow the most natural thing in the world.

Somehow, Teruhashi ended up fully in his arms with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, fumbling the buttons on his jacket with shaking hands even as she kissed and kissed and kissed him back. He palmed her perfectly shaped bottom beneath her skirt and tumbled forward to where he knew a desk would be, because even without his psychic powers, he still seemed to have an eidetic memory. The layout was slightly different from when he, Teruhashi, and the others had been members of Class 2-3, but his quick glimpses between watching his friends had been plenty.

_This is wrong_, Kusuo thought as he set Teruhashi on the desk so he could grab her face with both hands and delve in deeper. This was very, very wrong. It was too fast, too soon, too…too…everything!

_Do I even _like_ Teruhashi_?

It seemed like a stupid question to ask when he had her half-pinned to a desk with his jacket off while practically eating her face. But then Teruhashi's tongue swept across the seam of his lips, and Kusuo groaned, opening his mouth to let her in. God had certainly been kind when assigning gifts to Teruhashi.

Part of him was beginning to wonder just how far the two of them would let this go, nagging that they hadn't had a chance to even talk yet, never mind decide they were ready for something so permanent. And what would they do if Teruhashi got pregnant? It's not like Kusuo went around with rubbers in his pocket on the off-chance he found someone to bang.

_Do I look like Toritsuka_?

Maybe she was on birth control? He should probably ask before she finished getting his belt off—

"Oi, Kusuo? Kusuo?"

The world snapped back into focus around him and the first thing Kusuo saw was his brother's wide, inquisitive eye. Shock rocketed through him, and Kusuo teleported on instinct so his back was plastered to the wall, putting as much distance between the two brothers as possible without Kusuo actually leaving his room.

_The hell was _**_that_**?!

"Kusuo? You look like you've seen a ghost." A manic gleam sparked in Kusuke's eye. "Did you see something in the future? Another disaster? You should probably put off getting rid of your powers then, just for a little while. Don't want to risk the end of the world, after all."

_The end of the world_? Kusuke didn't know the half of it. Kusuo's heart was still pounding in his chest, this time joined by an equally frantic pounding in his head. Was that precognition? No, of course not, right? There's no way he and Teruhashi would…out of literally _nowhere_…A shudder ran up Kusuo's spine as he remembered the taste of her lips, the skim of her fingers along his bare waist as she tugged his shirt from his pants, the rake of her tongue across his teeth…

It all felt so _real_, but at the same time, he didn't remember ever having such a long, detailed vision before. But he had a headache, a bad one at that, so did that mean it started out as a vision and shifted somewhere in the middle? Where was the shift? _Why_ was there a shift?

Never once in his seventeen years of life had Saiki Kusuo ever felt what others described as their "baser urges". He wasn't interested in a pretty face because he knew what went on beneath the skin, both literally and figuratively. He had no interest in sex or kissing as both sounded extremely grotesque (why would he want any part of himself inside any part of someone else? _Yare, yare_.) and there was nothing appealing about cuddling or petting because he had no desire to be around people, let alone touching them. On top of all of that, he got a bad enough emotional hangover just by unintentionally eavesdropping on other people's romantic entanglements, why increase the drama by putting himself center ring?

He'd once imagined the possibility of finding someone with whom he could share a purely intellectual relationship, but even that seemed like too much of a headache to bother with. Any type of relationship, no matter how benign, eventually devolved into chaotic explosions of emotion, selfishness, invasiveness, etc. Just look at the relationships Kusuo already had—however unwillingly he'd allowed them to develop.

"Kusuo?" Surprise of all surprises, Kusuke almost sounded concerned. "Did you change your mind?"

A moment's pause, then Kusuo nodded. [_Yes_.]

He teleported back into his chair and plucked the disgustingly shaped device (which Kusuo was 100% certain was not necessary for it to function properly) and slid it into his head without any further hesitation.

"But not about this."

* * *

Kaliea: So that make-out session was absolutely 100-percent not planned. It literally just happened as I was writing it, and when I finished I was like: "What?" It was so bizarrely out of character! But since I'm doing this story for Camp Nanowrimo, I don't have time to go back and delete if I want to finish by the 31st. So, instead of literally deleting it, I deleted it in-universe by having it be a premonition. Kind of cheaty, and maybe a bit of a letdown, but hey-there's a KusuOmi end game, so I'm sure something similar will pop up later ^-^; The crying thing, however, was planned; even the most beautiful girls I know don't cry beautifully when they're _actually_ upset.


	4. Trust Issues

**Chapter Four**

* * *

_Okay, so I'll admit my first instinct was to not tell anyone about my powers ever. Aiura, Akechi, and Toritsuka I would obviously have to update on my current status, but why bring it up to anyone else? Sure, they may be confused at first, but they'd get over it quickly enough._

_Of course, my stupid conscience (courtesy of my Mother) wouldn't let me keep quiet when I knew I owed my friends an explanation. Hell, I'd ruined Yumehara's love confession twice now (sort of). At the very least, she deserved a real chance to make her case to Kaidoh. And if I play my cards right, she could still get a boyfriend out of it._

_My next thought was to leave Teruhashi-san out of it and tell her later (or not at all) since it was obviously her reaction that led to that nightmare scenario in the first place. What had hallucination-me been thinking, jumping all over her like that? Yare, yare!_

_Anyway, I figured out pretty quick that was a bad idea too. No one would be able to keep the secret from Teruhashi-san, of all people; mostly because they would assume she already knew. And if I tell them specifically not to tell her, that would just make them suspicious. No, my only option is to tell Teruhashi-san before I tell anyone else. That will give me the chance to explain without providing kindling for what would ultimately erupt into a firestorm later. To do that, however, I have to get Teruhashi-san alone. And in a school where everyone knows where Teruhashi-san is at all times, that is far easier said than done._

* * *

**Trust Issues**

"Saiki-kun!" Teruhashi was as shiny as ever, her fingers pressed together girlishly in front of her face as she smiled from her seat that was positioned right beside Kusuo's. "We're in the same class again!"

_Why is her desk so close? _

"Our seats are next to each other, too!"

_Did she move it that close to mine?_

"I'm looking forward to the semester!"

_There's really no escaping her, is there?_

He saw her spin around from the corner of his eye, but Kusuo refused to look at her, refused to take in her shiny appearance and too beautiful face. He wouldn't fall for her pretend charms the same way Prediction-Kusuo had. He may not be able to read her mind anymore, but that didn't mean Teruhashi had changed from this week to last. She was only interested in him because he wasn't interested in her, and that's that.

_Then why not be interested? Maybe then she'll go away._

"Yare, yare," Kusuo muttered. He felt a headache coming on and hoped he wasn't about to have another premonition.

_Oh, right. No more powers._

"Eh, Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi turned with a soft smile and concerned eyes. "What is it?"

Steeling himself, Kusuo looked Teruhashi right in the face and managed to school his expression and reaction to his usual blank stare and disinterested mien. Teruhashi was undeniably beautiful but seeing her in his prediction had helped him build a buffer against her angelic visage.

"Do you have plans for lunch?" Kusuo asked, forcing his voice to remain even. He didn't realize how nerve-wracking it would be to ask Teruhashi to meet with him alone. Not because he liked her, _hell no_, but because everyone _else_ liked her. The last thing he wanted was for anyone (Teruhashi included) to get the wrong idea and cause him even more trouble. He was supposed to be ordinary now, and ordinary people don't get involved with extraordinary people like Teruhashi Kokomi.

"Plans?" Teruhashi's shine brightened. Kusuo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, it seemed she already had the wrong idea, and nodded.

"I have something I need to tell you. Can you meet me in the yard behind the shed after the bell? You'll need to come alone; this is important."

Surprisingly, instead of stars falling from her eyes, Teruhashi seemed to freeze and crack like a mirror left too long near an open flame. "A-a-al-lone?"

_Thank goodness she didn't yell, though her high-pitched whisper is almost worse_.

"Y-you want to meet me in the yard _a-alone_?"

Kusuo ignored the insinuation and nodded once.

"A-a-all right."

_Good, one thing handled_. Now he just needed to figure out how to tell her without _that_ happening. Nodding his acceptance, Kusuo turned his attention back to the front of the room as the teacher stepped in to begin.

#

Teruhashi was late, but considering he made a point of her coming alone, he shouldn't be surprised. It couldn't be easy to shake her hoard of admirers for any length of time, never mind long enough to have a private conversation with a boy.

_Which will be nothing like what she's expecting at all. Probably._

After all, without telepathy, Kusuo couldn't know exactly what it was Teruhashi expected.

"Pst, pst."

Kusuo jumped at the noise and spun around, his eyes darting about the yard. Was that a bug? It sounded like a bug.

_Don't be a bug_!

"Pst, pst." The bushes rattled at the edge of the yard, just in front of the fence, and Kusuo went stiff and white as he imagined what a bug large enough to hiss and rattle the bushes must be like.

_Where's Amp when I need him_!

Long, thin fingers—each tipped with a perfectly manicured nail—parted the branches of the bush and Teruhashi's indigo eyes peered out at him. Kusuo nearly fell over from relief but managed to prop himself against the shed just in time. His heart was thundering in his chest from the terror she'd dropped on him; he pressed his free hand to his breast.

_Do hearts explode when they beat too fast or do they just stop working_?

"Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi climbed out of the bush and leaned around him, trying to see his face. "Are you okay?"

Kusuo waved her off. The last thing he needed right now was Teruhashi getting in his face.

"So, um, what did you want to tell me?"

She sounded so nervous and expectant that Kusuo couldn't help but look back. She looked amazing, of course, but especially so considering she'd just been crawling around in the bushes. Not a hair was out of place and no dirt or grass stains marred either her clothes or her face. She could have just stepped off a catwalk. Pushing aside those thoughts (though he did make a mental note to ask Kusuke about making him some Teruhashi-dimming glasses), Kusuo nodded before looking around to make absolutely sure they were alone.

His spot-check only seemed to make Teruhashi more nervous than before as she fiddled with her hair and skirt, refusing to meet his eyes. She was even blushing. "So…what is it?"

She glanced at him with her big indigo eyes, and Kusuo bit the inside of his lip. It should honestly be a sin to be that beautiful.

_Focus_.

"Do you remember when you came to my house for New Years with Kaidoh and the others?"

Teruhashi blinked, her blush fading. His question was clearly not in-line with anything she'd been imagining.

"I, um, yes? I mean, of course. Your mother offered to give me cooking lessons."

_No, you asked her for them, but whatever_.

"Right. And do you remember what she said?"

Teruhashi looked around, confusion warring with her lingering nerves as she tried to figure out where he was going with this. "She said you had trust issues because a girl once broke your heart."

_Yare, yare. She's really embraced that unnecessary addition._

Hope sparked back across her face, triggering a blush, and Teruhashi looked up at him with softly parted lips. Once again, even without his powers, he could practically read her mind: _Is he about to confess_?

Kusuo shook his head to both her response and unasked question. "That's what you remember, not what she said."

"I…what?" Teruhashi put a finger to her lips and looked to the side, thinking back on that day five years ago. "So if not that, what did she say?"

"She said I had trouble making friends because of my psychic powers."

Silence stretched between them, only broken by a warm spring breeze blowing through and rustling the bushes and trees around them. Teruhashi's head tilted as she stared, her mind obviously working through the cogs were now invisible to him. After nearly a full minute, the memory replacement broke, and she tapped a fist into her palm with a '_poof'_.

"That's right! She did say that, didn't she? Huh." Teruhashi put a hand to her cheek, surprised. "I don't know how I forgot something like that."

"You forgot because I made you forget," Kusuo said, willing her to understand. "Using my psychic powers."

Silence. Teruhashi blinked. She looked away, looked back, tilted her head.

"Huh?"

_So much for not reliving it all through explanation_.

_Well, maybe a summary_.

Kusuo summarized.

"Seventeen years ago, two ordinary parents gave birth to a not-so-ordinary baby: me. At fourteen days, I started talking telepathically, at one month I was walking by levitating in the air, and at one-year-old, I ran my first errand by teleporting to the store to buy rice wine."

Teruhashi's face grew progressively more 'meh' as Kusuo spoke, her suspension of disbelief plummeting. "Uh-huh."

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm telling the truth. This isn't like Kaidoh and his chuunibyo act."

"Uh-huh." Teruhashi crossed her arms in a shockingly un-Teruhashi way. "Prove it then." She thought for a moment, then dug a spoon out of her lunch box and held it out. "Bend this."

_And it starts_.

"I can't. I got rid of my powers over spring break."

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, how about this, then? Back in the middle of second year, your brother came to my house to tell me to stay away from you—"

"He what!"

"—and you had some weird instinct that told you he was at my house, right?"

"I, um, yeah. How did you know?"

"Because I was the one who told you about it using telepathy."

Teruhashi blinked. "You mean you spoke inside my mind?"

"I always spoke directly to your minds; using my voice is a pain."

Teruhashi put her fingers to her lips and looked to the side in thought. "Now that I think of it, I don't ever remember seeing your lips move, and you would always speak clearly even with food in your mouth." She shook her head. "No, no; I'm obviously just remembering wrong. There's no way you have psychic powers."

"Used to have." _Time for the big guns_. "Do you remember that bear you met on the school trip to Okinawa?"

Teruhashi took half a step back, her eyes wide. "How do you know about that? It was a dream!"

"It wasn't a dream. There really was a bear, and I really did get rid of it."

"I—you—wha—_how_?!"

Kusuo shrugged. "I teleported to where you were and used my super-strength to send it flying. It was sheer luck you thought you were dreaming; otherwise, I would have had to tell you about my powers back then."

"But…but it was a lucid dream! Everything I wanted to happen, did!"

"Everything you wanted to happen, I _made_ happen. You wanted a palace, so I teleported us to a palace. You wanted me to say '_offu'_ and I wanted you to fall asleep—"

"Ah-hah!" Teruhashi pointed, sparkling triumphantly with one eye closed. "That means I win, Saiki Kunio! If that wasn't a dream, then you really said '_offu'_—"

"Not a chance. I made Toritsuka look like me and let him say it."

Teruhashi frowned. "Who?"

Kusuo's heart did not skip a beat that she had to sincerely stop and think about who Toritsuka was; he was just concerned that everything wouldn't turn out differently from his premonition/hallucination.

"Oh." Her face went deadpan. "_That_ guy." Then the current topic reasserted itself, and Teruhashi shook her head. "How do I know that's true? Maybe you're just making that up to disguise the fact that you really did '_offu'_ and you're just too embarrassed to say so."

"Does that mean you believe I had psychic powers?"

Teruhashi sputtered. "I…that is…of course not!"

"Then it doesn't matter if I'm lying or telling the truth. If it was a dream, it never happened either way."

"You—!"

Kusuo tilted his head, smirking slightly has he drove her toward checkmate. "But assuming it was a dream, how did I know about the bear or the palace or the debatable…_incident_?"

Teruhashi stared and he could almost hear her question: _How **did** he know_?

"All that food we found while stranded on that island?"

She started, looking at him with wide eyes. "Yeah?"

"I teleported home at night, bought it from the convenience store, and laid it out on the beach like it washed ashore. Do you honestly think it could have showed up otherwise? There was bread and toilet paper in at least two of those deliveries; if they really came out of the ocean, they would have been soaked."

"You…make a good point…"

"That time we met on the street during the first summer of second year? I knew you were there the whole time, and you weren't hallucinating either. Nendou startled me, and I teleported away by accident."

"So that's it!" Teruhashi put a hand to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness; I've been thinking I was crazy all year! Wait." A dangerous glint sparked in her indigo eyes as she sent Kusuo a glare equivalent to Kaa-san's Oni-face. "You were _ignoring_ me."

"I had psychic powers I wanted to keep a secret, which meant doing everything I could not to attract attention." Kusuo's tone dipped toward sarcastic. "And I don't know if you've noticed, Teruhashi-san, but you tend to attract a lot of attention."

"Oh, well, that's true." She sighed tragically and pressed a hand to her cheek. "I suppose we all have burdens to bear."

_Yare, yare_.

"All right, then." Teruhashi sent Kusuo a probing glance. "Let's pretend for a minute that I believe you—and I'm not saying I do—why get rid of such amazing powers?"

"Because they _weren't_ amazing; they were _horrible_."

Teruhashi blinked, surprised. "You just told me you could teleport miles away in the blink of an eye, fight a bear without breaking a sweat, and send telepathic messages across down; how is any of that horrible?"

"Because I couldn't just send messages, I heard everything within a 200 km radius. Every thought from the mundane to the ridiculous to the dangerous paraded through my head 24/7 for seventeen years with no way to filter or block any of it until I found a germanium ring left behind by a sleazy salesman."

"Eh?"

"Super strength was all right, I suppose, but only when I actually needed it. Most of the time, I had to avoid situations where any sort of strength was involved because it was so difficult to control. Do you know why I sat there for hours in that forest pretending you were lucid dreaming instead of knocking you out and taking you back to the hotel?" Kusuo cringed. _That still sounds way creepier than I meant it._

"No?"

"Because if I tried, I'd have killed you. Hell, forget knocking you out, just trying to get you off my arm could have thrown you halfway across the world."

Teruhashi paled. "And the teleporting?"

"Under control for the most part, and admittedly pretty useful. But if something startled me—and believe me, that was nearly impossible to do—I could end up halfway around the world without meaning to. And depending where I ended up, I could find myself in serious danger since I couldn't teleport again until three minutes had passed. And don't get me started on the x-ray vision."

"X-ray vision?!" Teruhashi crossed her arms over her chest and turned sideways in a show of vulnerability that made Kusuo cringe. _Probably not the best segway into that topic_.

"It's not like that. Sure, I could see through clothes, but not very often. Most of the time, if I looked at someone for longer than five seconds, all I saw was muscle, organs, and bones. Do you have any idea how gross living things are on the inside? And that's what I saw almost _all the time_."

"Muscles and organs?" Teruhashi's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Even me?"

Kusuo nodded once.

"Ugh. No wonder you never went '_offu'_. I don't think anyone could. Although..." Teruhashi swept the back of her hand through her hair with a teasing mock of her usual passive arrogance. "If anyone _could_ be beautiful on the inside..." She trailed off with a giggle and a wink.

Kusuo's lips twitched. "Because you're the perfect woman?"

Teruhashi froze, her hand halfway through her hair, and stared at Kusuo in horror. "D-don't tell me…"

Kusuo tapped the side of his head. "Telepathy."

"Kyaaa! Nooo!" Teruhashi put both hands to her face and spun around as if that was enough to hide her from view. "I can't believe you've been hearing all of my thoughts! How humiliating! How—!"

She went stiff, and Kusuo followed suit. _Here it comes_.

Spinning around, Teruhashi stared at him in disbelief. "You've been hearing all of my thoughts?"

Kusuo nodded once, and Teruhashi seemed to fold in on herself, wilting.

"All of them?"

He hesitated a moment or two, but Kusuo still nodded once.

"So…so you _know_…?"

More hesitation. Another nod.

"O-offu…"

This was already turning out very differently from his prediction/hallucination, which was both good and bad. Good, because _obviously_. Bad, because he now had no idea what to expect.

"I needed you to lose interest in me, Teruhashi-san."

Her voice was small; almost depressed. "Because I draw attention."

Kusuo nodded once, stiffly. "It wasn't personal."

Teruhashi scoffed. "Maybe, but it certainly _feels_ personal." She paused. "It feels…_I feel_…violated."

Kusuo flinched, and Teruhashi quickly raised a hand.

"Don't get me wrong; I'm not blaming you. Well, not _really_. You were born this way, so you obviously can't help it, but I also can't help the way I feel. I'm sure I'll come to terms with it eventually, but for right now, can we just move on and not talk about it anymore?"

Kusuo nodded once. Teruhashi breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

More silence stretched between them. Teruhashi's arms were banded around her waist, obviously still feeling vulnerable, as she looked at everything but Kusuo save the short, shy glances she shot his way every few minutes. Finally, just when Kusuo couldn't take the silence anymore, Teruhashi spoke.

"So you mentioned telepathy, super-strength, x-ray vision, and teleportation. What else could you do?"

Fighting down a relieved sigh of his own, Kusuo answered.

* * *

Kaliea: Not much going on here except a bit of bonding between Kusuo and Kokomi. It's important, though, because this conversation lays the foundation for their later relationship :)

Happy reading!


	5. Not Even A Little

**Chapter Five**

* * *

_Things went well with Teruhashi, but I'm not ruling anything out with the rest. It was both a relief and an annoyance when the bug and baseball bit from my prediction occurred as expected. I planned to minimize Takamiya's interest in having me join the baseball club by throwing with my right hand this time. As a psychic, I was perfectly ambidextrous, but ordinary people always have a dominant hand, even if they are ambidextrous. Considering my 120km performance with my left hand, I determined I was left-hand dominant._

_I am not._

_Not only was my right hand throw better, Takamiya predicted it clocked at about 140km. Worse, I didn't throw my hardest. Takamiya was thrilled and probably would have followed me to the classroom where the others were if he and I had been on the same school level. As it is, he tried to climb up the outside wall and into the second-floor window; terrifying._

_But this doesn't prove anything. The broken window was a coincidence and so is this. It may not be common for a high-schooler to throw such a hard fastball, but it's not impossible either. Adachi Mitsuru made an entire manga based off the main character's promise to throw 160km as a high school student. This doesn't make me un-ordinary._

_Yare, yare, I'm off track._

_After escaping Takamiya, I arrived at room 2-3 and revealed everything as planned._

* * *

**Not Even A Little**

"Ehhhh!?"

"Youth is wasted on the young!"

_"—_like bend spoons and levitate spoons and call spoons into his hand and set spoons down on the table—"

"You've got to be kidding me! You expect us to believe you had psychic powers all this time and just happened to get rid of them right before the start of term? You need to take a hard look at reality!"

"Now hold on, you guys. If you really think about it, doesn't this explain some things?"

"Eh? What sort of things?"

Akechi launched into his exhaustive list of evidence, but everyone managed to avoid his over-packed speech bubbles to focus on Hairo.

_Excellent. Everything is progressing as expected_.

Minus _that_, of course.

"Like what happened back on sports day during second year. Remember how Saiki just collapsed after that thing was taken out of his head? And then he took off flying during the relay race without breaking a single sweat."

"That's true, isn't it? There were those times too, weren't there? I wondered how it all turned out so badly…"

"How what turned out badly? Did something happen to you, Yumehara-san?"

_That's right, Kaidoh. Give her some encouragement._

"No, no, no, no, no! It's nothing like that! Just a misunderstanding between Saiki-kun and I that got resolved; I'm just realizing that there were some weird things about it is all."

Kaidoh looked over at Kusuo, his brow furrowed darkly. "That snake, right at the start of second term after summer break our second year. Was that you?"

Kusuo nodded once. Kaidoh bit his thumb and looked away, minute tremors running through his body. Akechi being Akechi couldn't read the atmosphere and instead hovered around Kaidoh, bombarding him with questions about the incident.

"Hey, now that you mention it, wasn't there that other time too? Remember when we built that treehouse together? Saiki didn't really do much, but after we finished it and decided to try it out, it collapsed right after he passed out, yeah?" Kuboyasu met Kusuo's eye. "Does that mean you were holding it up?"

Kusuo nodded once. Kuboyasu threw his head back and laughed. "Man, what a riot! Could you imagine how bad it would be if we'd climbed up inside it before you went down like that? We'd all be deader than roadkill!"

"My ship!" Saiko leaped to his feet and stomped forward to grasp Kusuo's shirt in both fists. "Was it you who destroyed my darling yacht and left us stranded on that island?"

"Ah," Kusuo said, looking away with a bland expression. "That was Teruhashi-san's fault."

"Eh?" Teruhashi pointed at herself with both hands. "Wh-what did I do?"

Her face was glowing, and her eyes sparkled so much Kusuo was pretty sure he could guess what was running through her head: _Am I really so distracting that Saiki-kun lost control of his powers around me_?

Kusuo rolled his eyes and pointed at his head, not bothering to shake himself loose from Saiko's grip. The rich snob 'tch'ed and let him go anyway, stocking back to his chair with a muttered monetary excuse that made no sense whatsoever.

Tapping the left side of his head twice, Kusuo said, "You pulled out my limiter. _Again_."

"Again?" Teruhashi put a finger to her lips as she thought. "Oh, right! When you saved me from that bear."

"Eh?!"

"Teruhashi-san was attacked by a bear and Kusuo-kun saved her? Of course he did, because Kusuo-kun is amazing! He saved me too, lots of times, back in elementary school when I was being bullied, though there were a few times I saved myself by wetting my pants…"

Teruhashi pointed to Toritsuka who still sat huddled in a corner. Somehow, he seemed to have aged several decades in the last few minutes. "I still can't believe you used that guy to avoid saying 'offu'…"

"Huh?"

"Ah!" Aiura slapped her fist into her palm with an audible 'poof'. "He must have used the idiot as a body double, overlaying his face on the idiot using his power of hallucination."

"Hallucination?"

_Again with the tandem speaking._

Except Akechi, who was explaining the power to anyone he could force to listen, and Kaidoh, who was still silently shaking.

"How many powers do…did…you have, Saiki?"

Kusuo shrugged at Hairo. He still had no clue.

"You don't _know_?" Kuboyasu scratched at his head. Mera, as expected, was drooling with an occupied look on her face.

_Still not paying attention._

Nendou stood staring with a blank look on his face while picking his nose.

_I'm pretty sure he has no clue what's going on._

"I knew a lot of my powers—telepathy, super strength, petrification, x-ray vision, teleportation, etc.—but most of the time, I didn't realize I had a power until I needed it."

"Ah." Hairo crossed his arms and nodded knowingly. "Like Superman."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. That comment was a lot more annoying the second time around.

"How could you?" Kaidoh spoke so softly, Kusuo almost didn't hear it—no one else seemed to. But then, Kusuo had been focusing intently on his chuunibyo friend, waiting for this exact moment.

_Here it comes._

"Eh?" Hairo lowered his arms and glanced over. "You say something, Kaidoh?"

_Now's your chance, Yumehara-san_. Kusuo cut a glance at the nervous looking girl. _You've done this before, and it always ends well_.

Kaidoh clenched his fists with a 'tch' and dragged his head up to glare at Kusuo. He had tears in his eyes. "How could you keep this a secret? I thought we were friends! Friends don't keep secrets from each other, Saiki!" A shocked shadow passed over his face. "Is that it then? We were never really friends? You just played me like a sucker from the beginning, probably laughing at me behind my back because I was so useless and pathetic! You—!"

"That's not fair at all!"

_Excellent! Wait…what_? Kusuo blinked owlishly. That wasn't Yumehara's voice. It wasn't her words either.

_Who changed the script_? Glancing around, Kusuo's eyes landed on Teruhashi who stepped forward with a combative expression on her pretty face. He rolled his eyes. _Yare, yare._

"Offu, T-Teruhashi-san…"

_Offu? Really?_ Then again, Teruhashi was, as expected, quite beautiful when angry.

"No!" Teruhashi cut her hand through the air and stocked forward to shove her finger in Kaidoh's face. "You can be upset about his powers, you can be upset that he gave them away, you can even be upset that he didn't tell you, but don't you dare say Saiki-kun was never your friend!"

"Offu." It was barely a whisper, but Kusuo still turned away with his fist to his mouth. _Yare, yare_.

"Would someone who wasn't your friend, someone who could literally blow up the world with his mind if he wanted to, let you hang around him for so long? Would he indulge you like he did? Would he save you from your own stupidity?"

Hurt, confusion, and sadness warred on Kaidoh's face as he raised his hands and backed frantically away from Teruhashi's burning rage. "He saved you from that snake because he cared. He held up your stupid treehouse because he cared. He went to ramen with you and visited your house and joined your Okinawa group _because he cared_. Because he's your _friend_."

Guilt pinged in Kusuo's heart—_none of that is true_—but he didn't refute it either. Whether he liked it or not, he and Kaidoh were friends now, even if they weren't back then. And as long as Teruhashi was arguing in his favor, Kusuo wouldn't have to argue his own. Although, if Teruhashi didn't stop, Yumehara would lose her chance to confess _again_.

_Yare, yare._

"Everyone has secrets they can't tell," Teruhashi continued, suddenly swinging on Yumehara. "Right, Chiyo?"

"O-oh! Um…" Yumehara looked around a bit, nervousness prevalent on her face. "Yes. Right."

_Damn it._

"Right!" Mera said, snapping from whatever food-induced daydream she'd been indulging. "Saiki-san must have used a lot of his powers to help us, didn't he? It could only be because of him that we survived the shipwreck."

"I don't know about any of that," Aiura put in. "But he definitely saved Chiyo-pipi's life when she fell off the school roof."

"What!" Kaidoh looked at Aiura in horror before racing over to grasp Yumehara by her upper arms, almost shaking her. "Why didn't you say you fell off the roof?! When did that happen? Are you okay?"

"Obviously she's fine," Aiura muttered, rolling her eyes, but only Kusuo seemed to hear.

"Oh! Ah…um…" Yumehara managed to snap out of her love daze just long enough to set a crooked finger beneath her lower lip. "I thought that was a dream…"

She looked over at him, and Kusuo stiffened, certain her fickle affection was about to transfer back to him. Instead, she shocked him when she took Kaidoh's hand in a tight grip and pulled back just far enough to bow.

"Thank you, Saiki-kun, for saving my life." She straightened up with another bright smile, though her grip on Kaidoh never loosened. The poor boy looked ready to faint. "There are still many things I want to do."

Kusuo smiled, his tense muscles relaxing, and returned Yumehara's bow. "No need for thanks. I'm glad I made it in time, Yumehara-san."

"Oh, hey! We should get ramen to celebrate! Buddy's paying, right?"

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched.

"I'm okay with that." Yumehara shot Kaidoh a cheery smile. "Are you coming, Kaidoh-kun?"

"I…um…ah…" He was so red he started to smoke.

"Why don't you all come to my café instead of ramen? I owe Saiki-san a coffee jelly, at the very least, for all he's done for us."

_You **are** a god._

"Not me, I'm afraid," Hairo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I have tennis and judo practice after school, and Matsuzaki-sensei will be upset if I'm late." He offered Kusuo a grin and held out his hand. "I always knew there was something special about you, Saiki. I'm just sorry I couldn't get you to bring it out sooner. You would have been a truly worthy rival."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched, but he accepted Hairo's handshake anyway. _Still not dead, moron._

Yumehara pulled Kaidoh from the room, talking softly to him as he blushed and nodded along. It was too much to hope she was confessing now, especially since Kusuo heard his name every now and then. She was probably finishing what Teruhashi had started, helping Kaidoh accept everything Kusuo told them.

_Does this mean I have to play cupid for them later? Yare, yare._

"Naturally I wouldn't be caught dead eating in such a plebeian place as what is frequented by the likes of peasants such as yourselves, but I suppose I could make an exception in this case seeing as blah, blah, blah."

Kusuo scowled. _No one invited you_.

Everyone filed out, all talking merrily about Kusuo's powers loud enough that anyone could have heard them if school was still in session. Suddenly, Kusuo realized he'd neglected something very important.

_Damn it._

"Wait, you guys!"

Everyone paused at the door. "Offu," Hairo said. "What is it Teruhashi-san?"

"You guys do know you can't tell anyone about this, right?" Teruhashi put one hand to her chest and flung the other in Kusuo's direction. "Saiki-kun put a lot of trust in us; we can't take that for granted by spreading this information around."

Aiura raised an eyebrow at Teruhashi, her expression surprised. "What are you saying? Of course, no one was going to—"

"Oh, wow, yeah." Kuboyasu shared a surprised look with Hairo. "I didn't even think about that. Sorry, man. Your secret's safe with me."

Aiura gaped. "Seriously?"

"Me too, Saiki!" Hairo gave Kusuo a thumbs up. "I won't even think about what we discussed today ever again, just in case there are other psychics listening."

_You don't have to go that far._

"I suppose if you're asking, Teruhashi-san, then I have no choice but to keep this pathetic peasant's pathetic little secret."

A vein popped on Kusuo's forehead. _Go home_! _Why did I even include you_?

Again, everyone filed out, following behind Mera as she chattered to Kuboyasu about the different jobs she's done. He watched her, occasionally commenting, with something akin to awe as though he wasn't entirely sure what to make of her.

_Join the club_. Kusuo had no idea how she worked all of her jobs and still made time for school. Not only that, she was even ahead of Kusuo in the rankings (but only because he got average grades on purpose.) He paused mid-step at that thought and felt a thrill of cold terror run up his spine. How was he supposed to regulate his grades now? Even without his powers, Kusuo had an eidetic memory, which meant test taking came as easy to him as breathing.

"Are you okay, Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi leaned into his personal space, concern sparkling on her too pretty face. "You went pale. Are you sick?"

She raised her hand—_to check my temperature_?—but Kusuo blocked her with his bladed palm.

"Yare, yare. It's nothing."

Teruhashi didn't look convinced, but she still shrugged and dropped her arm to clutch the handle of her school bag with both hands. "If you say so, Saiki-kun."

_I do 'say so_.' Kusuo suppressed a sigh and followed Teruhashi out of the classroom and after his trail of friends. He hadn't planned to get food with them, and he definitely hadn't expected to pay, but he supposed this one time wouldn't hurt. He did owe them after all. Just a tiny bit, but there were few things Kusuo hated more than being in someone's debt.

_Yare, yare_.

And just for the record, he wasn't smiling. Not even a little.

* * *

Kaliea: Another chapter where things are pretty mellow. We have two more filler-esk chapters where some answers regarding Kusou's current status as "ordinary" come up; what he's capable of, how that measures up to other normal people, and the like. Then things get nuts. Like, off the wall, why is she thinking in this direction nuts. It should be a blast :)


	6. Physical Fitness Test

**Chapter Six**

* * *

_Being ordinary is harder than ordinary people make it seem. Not only are they oblivious to people's real feelings, they have to rely on their ordinary strength to do things. This wouldn't be bad for me—all I ever wanted was to be ordinary—except for one thing: how ordinary is my new ordinary?_

* * *

**Physical Fitness Test**

The problem with the Physical Fitness Test was that Kusuo was legitimately curious about what he could do. He was also really worried about it. Obviously, his test results wouldn't be as off-mark as they always were when he had to worry about regulating his powers, but what was he supposed to do when he no longer _needed_ to regulate his powers? Should he go all-out, or was that still too much? It was no longer imperative that he not draw attention now that he had nothing to hide, but he still liked his privacy and suddenly becoming as good as (or worse, _better_ than) Hairo would draw enough attention that he would spend the rest of his high school tenure without a moment's peace.

_Not happening. Not a chance._

Which is why Kusuo dropped the training bug in Hairo's ear the weekend before the school-wide test and didn't protest (too much) when Kuboyasu, Kaidoh, and Nendou tagged along. If anything, that was better as it gave Kusuo a decent range with which to measure himself. Sort of. Nendou, Kuboyasu, and Hairo were all fairly O.P. when it came to physical prowess while Kaidoh…

_Yeah. Let's not reflect on the 'sealed talents' of the 'Jet-Black Wings.'_

Currently, Kuboyasu and Hairo were marking out a ball-throw pit with Kaidoh was tasked with chalking side-step boxes onto the cracked concrete of the abandoned warehouse parking lot they were using as their training ground, courtesy of the Jet-Black Wings. Nendou, as expected, was useless. The moment Hairo produced the rubber balls being used for the ball throw, Nendou appropriated them and shoved them up his shirt just as he'd done during every Physical Fitness Test for the last five years. This had the negative effect of immediately bringing Nendou's mom to Kusuo's mind just as it had for four of those five years. Kusuo momentarily reminisced on that first year of second year when he hadn't yet met the Nendou matriarch and so had no point of reference for a female Nendou.

_Simpler times_...

Surprisingly, Kusuo didn't miss his solitude as much as he thought he would. On the few days he found himself alone, the silence trailing behind him was unnerving and he had to resist the urge to look over his shoulder to see if anyone was there while knowing they weren't. At least if Nendou and Kaidoh were arguing three steps behind him, he didn't have to wonder if someone was or wasn't there.

"All right," Kuboyasu said, snapping his measuring tape closed with a dark smirk. "We're all done over here."

_Fix your face, you Yankee_.

"Yoshaaa!" Hairo threw both fists in the air, his pupils on fire. "Let's get this party started!"

_Why are you getting so into it?_

"We should let Shun go first to establish a baseline," Kuboyasu said, whipping out a notebook and pencil from nowhere. "Then Nendou can go. Ideally, Saiki, your numbers should fall comfortably in the middle."

"Don't settle for comfortable! We're here to challenge you, to find your limits and break through them! Never give up! Never surrender!"

_Yare, yare_.

After a few more minutes of unnecessary chaos, Kaidoh managed to get Nendou's right boob in both hands—_that sounds way, way worse than I meant it too_—and took his place at the head of the ball throw pit.

"Hah! Just watch and learn; this test will be nothing to the Jet-Black Wings." Kaidoh held the ball up with his right hand with his left splayed across the half of his face that wasn't shielded by his ice-blue hair and, as usual, a phantom burst of epic theme music seemed to follow him.

_How old are you_?

Kaidoh chuckled and wound up, glancing at Kusuo with his single, visible eye. "Best step back, Saiki, or the wind strength alone will blow you away."

_Seriously_?

"Hwoo!" Kaidoh chucked the ball in a way that arched upward more than it flew forward. Kusuo, Nendou, Kuboyasu, and Hairo all followed its movement as it went up and up and up before coming back down with a gentle _poof_. Kuboyasu drew out his measuring tape.

"7.1 meters."

Kaidoh huddled himself against the corner of the abandoned building, obviously dejected. Hairo, being Hairo, couldn't just leave him like that and hurried over, waving his hands placatingly.

"Hey, now, Kaidoh, don't be like that. You threw half-a-meter better than you did last year, and a whole meter more than at the beginning of second year. You've really improved, you know?"

Kaidoh sniffled and looked over his shoulder with teary, miserable eyes. He looked like the chipmunk Aiura said his aura personified. Hairo sweat-dropped and patted the top of Kaidoh's head with a hesitant, "There, there."

"So does that mean it's my turn?" Nendou stepped up, tossing the ball he'd recovered from the pit between both hands. "All right, then."

Nendou drew back, his muscles bulging with a mighty wind up, and threw. The ball rocketed up and forward before hitting the pavement with a hard thump and bouncing away into the scraggly brush lining the parking lot.

"Oops, sorry guys. That's my bad." Nendou raised a hand and jogged toward the edge of the parking lot. "I'll go grab it real quick. Be right back!"

Kuboyasu drew out the measuring tape, his glasses glinting as he diligently marked the scuff left behind by the well-worn volleyball. "52.6 meters."

Hairo spun around, fist clenched and fire burning in his eyes. "I knew it. Nendou, even after all this time, you're still my number one rival."

_Give me a break_.

"Here you go, buddy!" Nendou chucked the ball mid-jog, and Kusuo's hands came up on their own to snag it just before it slammed into his chest. His palms actually stung from the impact, and looking at one, he realized it was red.

_Huh. Interesting._

"All right, Saiki." Kuboyasu looked up from where he was marking Nendou's score on the record sheet. Thanks to the late afternoon sun, only one of his lenses was clear while the other reflected white. "Now's the moment of truth."

"You've got this, Saiki!" Hairo gave Kusuo a thumbs up and a wink. "I believe in you!"

Instantly recovered, Kaidoh clapped a palm on Kusuo's shoulder and fisted his left hand with a firm glint in his visible eye. "Don't lose, Saiki! The world is depending on you!"

_Yare, yare._

Taking half a step back, Kusuo wound up, raised his leading leg for momentum, and threw with all his might. Kuboyasu's measuring tape was out before the ball had fully landed. He stretched it across the chalked-out pit before scribbling on his sheet with incoherent mumbles. How far was that? Definitely further than Kaidoh, but how close did he get to Nendou? Apparently, Kaidoh and Hairo were even more curious than Kusuo as they'd appeared behind Kuboyasu's shoulders so fast it seemed like they'd teleported.

"Well?" Hairo had one hand on his knee while he wiped sweat from his chin with the back of the other. _Why are you sweating so much? You haven't done anything! _"What was it?"

"What was it?" Kuboyasu's Yankee expression half-took over his face as he met Hairo's gaze over his shoulder. "It's amazing; that's what!"

Kuboyasu tilted the notebook to give the other boys a glimpse. Both Hairo and Kaidoh's jaws dropped. "48.2 meters?!"

Kusuo's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

Kuboyasu nodded. "Seriously. And what's more amazing than that?" He pointed at Kusuo with the eraser end of his pencil. "You threw left-handed, Saiki, but aren't you a righty?"

Staring down at his still reddened palms, Kusuo tried to gain control of his whirling thoughts. Sure, 48 meters was nothing compared to what he'd been able to do with his powers, but it was pretty obvious that someone with Kusuo's build shouldn't be able to generate that kind of distance. Especially with his non-dominant hand.

_So much for not standing out_.

Kusuo clenched his fists with a relieved huff. Good thing they'd decided to practice today. If this was the real deal, he'd never live it down.

"Here, Saiki." The volleyball appeared at eye-level, balanced atop Hairo's palm as he stared at Kusuo with a surprising level of seriousness. Out of everyone, Kusuo had expected Hairo to be over the moon with joyful enthusiasm over finding yet another rival to challenge him as he continued his rise through the ranks of the world Japanese athletics. Instead, Hairo looked concerned as he reached out for Kusuo's hand when he didn't move to take the ball. Grasping Kusuo's wrist, Hairo turned his arm so his palm was face up before pressing the ball into it.

"We've come this far, Saiki. It wouldn't be right to stop halfway."

For the first time in his entire life, Kusuo had nothing snarky to tag on. Instead, he clasped the ball with both hands and gave Hairo a nod that his enthusiastic friend returned before stepping back. The air was dense with tension as Kusuo took his mark—his left-foot forward this time—and set himself up for the throw.

Five sets of eyes watched the white sphere streak through the sky, and as before, Kuboyasu was already prepared when it landed. He lay the bright yellow line of his measuring tape against the dingy, cracked concrete right where the ball struck the ground. No one else moved; no one spoke. Not even Nendou.

Kuboyasu looked up; his brow furrowed and lips pursed into a tight, pasty line.

"Well?" Kaidoh asked, inching up beside Kusuo, fidgeting with his red bandages. Kuboyasu sighed.

"54.2 meters."

_.._.

"Offu," the four boys said in unison, prompting a nostalgic flash to that moment after the sports festival in Year2—Year1 when they all got buzz cuts. Kuboyasu nodded. "Yeah."

"This isn't good you guys." Again, Hairo surprised Kusuo by being the voice of reason. He stared down over Kuboyasu's shoulder, looking at the chart, and tapped the back of his thumb against his chin. "I'm all for personal improvement, but these results are way too drastic. Anyone would know something was up if Saiki throws numbers this high."

"I agree, but right now isn't the time to think about that." Kuboyasu stood and clapped a hand on Kusuo's shoulder. "Let's finish the tests; then we'll decide what should be done."

Something warm and tight closed around Kusuo's heart, making it ache in a surprisingly pleasant way. Looking down, Kusuo touched his fingers to his chest, brow furrowed. _Since when does pain feel good_? _Am I becoming a masochist_?

"All right," Kuboyasu said, planting himself firmly in front of the side-step box Kaidoh had drawn out. "Let's go, Shun!"

"Oh! Um…yeah…" Kaidoh shot Kusuo a nervous glance before looking away and scratching at his cheek. He seemed embarrassed; borderline humiliated, even. Kusuo's heart ached again, this time in a far less pleasant way that he definitely didn't like. _Not a masochist, then_.

"Ready, Shun?" Kuboyasu asked, his words slurred by the silver whistle in his mouth. _Where the hell did that come from_?

Kaidoh got into position and nodded. Kuboyasu blew his whistle at the same moment he clicked the stopwatch he held to life. Kusuo kept count as Kaidoh shuffled from side-to-side and didn't have to guess that everyone else was too. Except probably Nendou, who Kusuo was pretty sure couldn't count that high.

Kuboyasu blew his whistle again to signal time was up and quickly scribbled the number down with the whistle dangling precariously between his lips. "30 sidesteps, Shun. You've improved again."

Once again, Kaidoh looked less than thrilled by his "stellar" performance, but at least he hadn't gone off again to huddle in the corner. Not looking up from the chart, Kuboyasu waved in Nendou's direction.

"You're up, Nendou."

"Yeah, yeah." Nendou set up, waited for Kuboyasu's whistle, and was off in a flash. He moved so fast, he almost had an afterimage. The whistle blew again, and Nendou came to an unnaturally quick stop.

"75. You're slipping up, Nendou," Kuboyasu said, the whistle tweeting softly with every word. "You had 83 last year."

Nendou grunted and kicked at the uneven ground. "Not as good as the gym floor. My shoes kept catching on the pavement. I'll make up for it in the real thing, though. Just wait and see!"

Kuboyasu grunted, either not listening or not caring, and finished taking notes. He glanced at Kusuo over the top of his glasses, his face grim, and nodded toward the box. "Okay, Kusuo; your turn."

_Since when am I "Kusuo" to you_? Still, Kusuo didn't correct him as he stepped into the box and settled into position. He waited, his muscles tense and tight like over-coiled springs until: _tweet_!

Kusuo slid side to side to side to side, not letting himself pause to think lest he run the risk of over-analyzing and skew the results. It seemed at once seconds and hours before the whistle sounded again, and Kusuo stumbled slightly over his shoes before bouncing to a stop. Nendou was right; ruined asphalt was not a good surface for this kind of test.

Kuboyasu hummed and nodded as he recorded Kusuo's number; a number Kusuo suddenly realized he didn't know as he hadn't been counting. _Idiot_.

"I got 73," Hairo said, looking around. "Guys?"

"73," Kuboyasu and Kaidoh confirmed before Kuboyasu continued. "But he was half-way to 74."

Kuboyasu tapped his pencil against the top of the clipboard, his expression speculative. "Considering Nendou's numbers, we can reasonably assume that Kusuo would be in the lower 80s, at least, if we had a proper floor, which again puts him well above average."

Kaidoh unexpectedly perked up at that, his garnet eyes sparking as he pointed to himself. "Does that mean I'll do better than 30 next week?"

Kuboyasu offered the excitable boy an indulgent grin. "Anything is possible."

The testing continued for another two hours with Kusuo meeting or exceeding Nendou's numbers in every event. Anxiety curled in Kusuo's stomach as he finished his standing long-jump with an extraordinary length of 3.13 meters. This was not right in any way, shape, or form.

With his powers sealed as they were, Kusuo should be, at best, completely average when it came to his physical prowess. Honestly, Kusuo had gone into this expecting to be closer to Kaidoh's level then Nendou's. He hadn't even really anticipated matching Hairo's numbers, crazy training zealot that he was. And yet, based on the results so far, Kusuo could still probably medal in any event he chose to compete in, though some may be silver instead of gold.

"Hey, Kusuo." Kuboyasu's violet eyes cut to Kusuo's over the top of his raised clipboard. "Are you sure your powers are really gone?"

_If God loves me at all, they are_.

_Oh wait, He doesn't_.

Fists clenched, Kusuo looked away and glared at a nearby volleyball, daring it to explode. Unable to vocalize something so terrible, he shrugged.

"Damn." A crack chased Kuboyasu's curse, and Kusuo glanced over to see he'd snapped the eraser tip off his pencil. The former(-_ish_) delinquent didn't seem to notice. Instead, he was looking from Hairo to Kaidoh and even Nendou as if searching for answers. "What do you guys think? If we keep practicing, it could push Kusuo to get his powers back. It might be best to quit while we're ahead."

"It could," Hairo said. "But I don't think so. Sure, Saiki is pushing the athletic boundaries, but he's still firmly on the normal side. And while it's possible that his powers could return in time, if they do, then training now would be the best option. If he learns to control his powers as they get stronger—if they get stronger—then he'll be in a much better position if they ever get back to where they were."

"You say that like I didn't train with them growing up. I'm not irresponsible. Why do you think I wore those limiters and glasses for so long?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Hairo waved his hands placatingly. "That's not what I'm saying at all. I mean, you told us you've had these powers since you were born right? You started talking when you were fourteen days old, man. That level of comprehension is off the charts. Not to mention levitating at one month and teleporting for the first time at one year; you never had a chance to ease into your powers because they were always just _there_. Sure, they got stronger every year, but they were clearly pretty strong to begin with."

Hairo scratched at the back of his head for a moment before continuing. "It's like if a kid learned to ride a bike by riding on a motorcycle, then strapped rockets to that motorcycle only a few years later."

_What a stupid analogy_. Kusuo's lips twitched toward a smile, but he managed to tamp it down. Kaidoh nodded dramatically, a sudden wind rustling his altered gym-clothes and tugging back the red ribbon he'd tied around his forehead at some point for some reason.

"Hairo's right, Saiki. And of course, there's _that_ to consider as well."

"That?" Kuboyasu, Hairo, and Nendou said together. Kusuo swallowed a sigh. _I don't even want to know_.

"Obviously the failure of your seal is part of Dark Reunion's plot to purge the world! If your powers return, then Dark Reunion will be able to steal them from you and turn them into a weapon against all that is good and just! Maintaining the seal on your powers is as vital as ensuring the beast in my right arm is never released, lest mankind suffer the consequences!"

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo passed a hand over his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. _I knew I didn't want to know_.

More than that, though, the throbbing in Kusuo's chest was back in the worst way. The ache swelled within him, pressing tightly against his heart and lungs then up through his throat where it settled in a lump.

They all seemed pretty upset by the idea of his powers returning. No doubt his abilities unnerved them even more than they'd let on. Not that Kusuo had a right to complain; they still treated him the way they always had and that's more than he had any right to expect. Besides, his powers were intimidating, obtrusive, and dangerous; he couldn't blame them for being scared at the thought of them coming back.

"Hey, you okay, buddy?" Nendou's face appeared inches from Kusuo's own. He was so close, their noses almost brushed. "You look really pale all of a sudden."

"It's nothing." Kusuo jerked backward, but his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own as it continued, "You all seem pretty bothered by this."

Nendou, Kuboyasu, Hairo, and Kaidoh all shared the same surprised look between themselves before turning back to Kusuo.

"Of course, we're bothered, Saiki." Hairo folded his arms and tilted his head to the left. "You don't want your powers back, right? You want to be ordinary. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't want that for you?"

_Offu_.

Unable to calm his sudden blush, Kusuo turned away scowling and rubbed his right cheek with the tip of his finger. "We still have the flexibility test."

"Aye, sir!" His friends shouted back.

_Yare, yare. _Kusuo sighed but couldn't help his quirk-lipped smile. _That's the_ w_rong anime_.

It only took another fifteen minutes to finish the last of the tests, but that's because Kaidoh relished in his opportunity to gloat over his (admittedly impressive) flexibility scores. Even Kusuo didn't quite manage to reach the toe-touch length Kaidoh did, which only served to sharpen the Jet Black Wing's nose even further, but whatever. Kusuo's lips tilted up as he watched Kaidoh laugh uproariously, his hands on his hips and his nose in the air.

_Everyone deserves at least a small victory now and then._

"Okay, you guys." Hairo clapped his hands to regain order. "We've got what we needed, now we need to figure out what to do with it. Saiki?" He looked over, his rust-colored eyes glinting like smoldering coals. Clearly, he was trying to suppress his excitement over discovering a new rival; Kusuo appreciated his restraint. "You're the boss here; what do your ideal numbers look like?"

The question hit Kusuo like his own psychic powered fist to the head. _What an unexpectedly loaded question_.

Two weeks ago—hell, two _minutes_ ago—he would have said exactly what he always did: he wanted to be ordinary. He didn't want to draw attention or make people look at him twice or start talking to him for no reason. But right now, surrounded by people who knew everything about him and only cared one way or the other because they cared about _him_, made the world suddenly look very different.

Looking at their earnest faces, Kusuo knew without a doubt that they would do whatever it took to help him hide, but that knowledge only reminded him of all the strain and self-doubt he'd forced Kaa-san to live with for the first seventeen (and then some because time-loop) years of his life. And if he'd finally been able to realize that wasn't fair to her, the woman who birthed him and loved him unconditionally, then it triply wasn't fair to his friends.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Kusuo found the guts to answer. "I don't want to stand out."

"All right then," Kuboyasu said at once, bringing his eraserless pencil down to the chart. "We'll have to practice regulating your strength when you throw so you know how to put in a good show without giving away—"

"No."

"Eh?" His friends said together before Kuboyasu shoved his glasses up his nose with his middle finger. _Another hold-over from his Yankee days_?

"What are you talking about, Kusuo?"

His fists still clenched, Kusuo looked his friends in the eye so they wouldn't question his resolve. "I don't want to stand out, but I'm not going to hide anymore either."

The other four shared incredulous looks between them before Kaidoh stepped forward. "Are you hearing yourself? You can't both hide and let loose, Saiki. Your numbers are too drastic a change from last year. People will notice that, which means they'll notice _you_."

Kusuo scowled and looked away, his fists tightening so much his nails cut into his palms. "It's not your responsibility or obligation to lie for me."

Hairo scratched the back of his head, looking lost. "We're your friends, Saiki. That means we've got your back, no matter what."

Exclamations of support chased Hairo's declaration, but Kusuo shook his head before pinning each one of them with a near glare. "You don't get it; I won't make you guys lie for me. No one should ever have to lie for me again."

"Again…?" Kaidoh trailed off before nodding knowingly. "Your parents, right?"

Kusuo offered a half-hearted grunt that passed as agreement.

Kuboyasu sighed. "That doesn't change the fact that these numbers are off the charts, Kusuo. Are you really okay with that?"

_Of course, I'm not_. But how could he say that? He barely had the right words when he was trying to talk about things he cared about or enjoyed; what words did a person use to defend a decision they made but still hated?

"I might have a solution…"

Four sets of eyes snapped to Kaidoh who held his hand up with a tentative face as if he was answering a question in class that he was only half certain of. He quelled a bit under the powerful stares of his four best friends but rallied admirably by rolling his shoulders and clearing his throat.

"What if we got the test postponed until after summer break?"

Kuboyasu's eyebrows shot up. "What good would that do? He would still have the same numbers he does now."

"Y-yeah, probably." Kaidoh scratched his cheek nervously and looked away. "But if the five of us say we spent the summer training, then it wouldn't be too weird if Kusuo got so much better. Especially if I improve a lot too."

_Now Kaidoh's using my given name?_

Hairo put a hand to his chin and nodded. "That could work. It would also give Kusuo the chance to figure out his actual limits. It's entirely possible that today was a fluke, after all. If we get in some actual training, his numbers could settle into something more natural on their own."

_Am I "Kusuo" to everyone, now? Also, stop trying to steal my vacation again; I had enough quality time with you guys during all five years of second year._

"The problem now is how we get the test postponed." Hairo lowered his hand and looked around. "Any ideas?"

"Hm…" Kuboyasu tapped the broken end of the pencil against his lips, which slowly turned up into a demon smile. "If somethin' were to happen to the school, they'd have to postpone the test, wouldn't they?"

Kusuo held his arms up in an 'X'. _Denied_. _Vandalism is a serious crime_.

"What about a petition?" Hairo asked. "We could pass it around all the third-year classrooms."

Kusuo held his arms up in an 'X'. _Who would sign it besides us_?

Kaidoh laughed once and flicked back his hair. "I suppose there's no choice but for I, the Jet-Black Wings, to—!"

Kusuo held his arms up in an 'X'. _No, no, no, no, no_.

"Look, I don't really get what you all are saying, but if you want to change something, why don't you just ask Teruhashi-san?"

Kusuo, Kaidoh, Kuboyasu, and Hairo looked over at Nendou with uncomprehending stares. "Huh?"

Nendou shrugged while picking his nose. "Sure, just tell Teruhashi-san you need to get the test put off until after summer, and she can tell the teachers. They'll listen to her, you know. Everyone listens to Teruhashi-san."

"Holy crap!" Kaidoh leaped back, his hands up in a warding position as he stared at Nendou with wide, burgundy eyes. "Nendou said something smart!"

_He's done that before_, Kusuo grudgingly admitted, if only to himself. _For being an idiot, he has a surprising amount of common sense_.

"Hey, guys, check it out!" Nendou opened and closed his thumb and pointer finger were a long line of mucus was connected to each pad. "It's all stretchy!"

_I was wrong; he's an absolute moron_.

* * *

Kaliea: It was surprisingly hard for me to decide between making Kusuo stronger than average or weaker than average. Weaker would definitely be funnier, but what I really wanted to know was which would be more "realistic". Eventually, I decided that, even though he'd been helped by his psychic powers, Kusuo's body still did the work of running, jumping, punching, kicking, throwing, etc. etc. He would have built up muscle mass like any normal person, just not as much as a normal person because he enhanced his muscles with psychic super-strength, so he was able to maintain a lean but very strong build. Additionally, Kusuo being stronger works better with my overall narrative, so stronger it is. Maybe someday I'll make a comedy story centered around how weak ordinary Kusuo is, but "it is not this day".

Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review!


	7. Obligatory Gesture

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

_It would be more surprising if I told you Teruhashi-san didn't manage to get the test moved to September, so I'll spare you the lies and say everything worked out the way Nendou predicted. Naturally, that meant the world was about to end in the worst way possible. Believe me, an over-active volcano would be a blessing compared to the nightmare I found myself in over the next few months; at least that would kill me quickly. This, on the other hand, is a fate worse than death; it's hell on earth._

* * *

**Obligatory Gesture**

"Oh, Kokomi-chan! It's so good to see you again, dear. How are you?"

_Don't pretend like she hasn't been here every day for two months._

"I'm doing wonderfully, Oba-chan. Saiki-kun and I are almost done with our project, but we still have the presentation to work on, so I'll probably come by for a while longer. I hope that's okay."

_Don't pretend like you didn't blackmail me into bringing you here_.

"That sounds perfect! It's so wonderful to see my Ku-chan spending so much time with his friends."

_We're not friends_.

"Oh, no, I'm the lucky one, honestly. You might even say I've been blessed by God!"

_I bet you blackmailed Him too._

"Will you be staying for dinner again, Kokomi-chan? I was planning to make pork chops tonight; they're Ku-chan's favorite! Would you like to help?"

_Stop teaching her how to make my favorite foods; she's not in bridal training._

"I would love to help! You make such delicious food, Oba-chan, that I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to improve."

_I know what you're thinking, and it's never going to happen; food won't make me 'offu'._

"Well why don't the two of you head upstairs to work on your project? I'll bring up some snacks for you in a bit then call you down again when it's time to start dinner."

_Does my opinion count for nothing in all this?_

"Thank you so much for your hospitality!"

Sighing, Kusuo led the way to his room with Teruhashi following cheerily behind with her schoolbag clasped by the handle with both hands. She was practically skipping and glowed so brightly from her overly giddy smile that she might as well be singing "la, la, la".

_What will it take to get this chick to leave me alone?_

Kusuo held the door to his bedroom and let Teruhashi enter first. Somehow, her smile turned even brighter as she offered him a grateful nod and literally twirled inside. The small kotatsu table she'd nagged him to get was still set up in the center of the room, though it obviously didn't have the futon attached because it was blazing outside. July had come in with a vengeance and hadn't let up at all despite being half-over.

Teruhashi took her usual seat on the cushion to the left, which left Kusuo the cushion on the right unless he wanted to sit right next to her on either end. Which he didn't. Teruhashi "accidentally" brushed his hands and arms enough when they were separated by the whole table top (which, admittedly, wasn't that big), he didn't want to imagine how many times "oops" or "sorry" would be said if he gave in and sat beside her like he knew she wanted.

Settling on the cushion opposite her, Kusuo pulled the project board out from under the bed and laid it out. Teruhashi hadn't been wrong when she said they were almost done with it, but she also hadn't mentioned that they didn't need to start it at all until last week since the presentation wasn't until the last day of school before summer break. It also wasn't a very involved presentation as they only needed to give a general overview of the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and why it led to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate by Tokugawa Ieyasu three years later.

Considering their combined intellect—even if Kusuo's grades _had_ been an accurate reflection of his own—such a simple project could have, even should have, been completed in two or three days. A week tops. So far, they had spent almost two months on it. And the reason for that?

The rapid-fire knocking against Kusuo's door sounded exactly on cue after only ten minutes of talking chart designs and image placement that Teruhashi was obviously sabotaging the entire time. She got hung up on the smallest details, like why they should use one shade of red over the other and how she couldn't possibly allow such low-resolution print outs, how did those even get in there? So sorry about that.

It was almost enough to make Kusuo rip his hair out.

As she always did, Teruhashi abandoned her place at the table and skipped to the door with a too wide grin as she opened it to reveal Iridatsu Yuuta in all his green haired, green eyed, white-hatted glory. He grinned up at Teruhashi, matching her perfectly for enthusiasm, with a colorful invitation in hand and stars in his eyes.

"Look, look, look, Peach-T Girl! It's my birthday on Saturday, and Mom said I can have a big party with all my friends since I'm turning six! We'll have a Cyborg Cider-man #2 cake and Cyborg Cider-man #2 balloons and Cyborg Cider-man #2 soda and Cyborg Cider-man #2 games! And I told all my friends about you guys, too! I said that I know the real Cyborg Cider-man #2 and the real Peach-T Girl! No one believed me, but you'll come to my party and show them I'm not lying, right Peach-T Girl and Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

_And so enters the devil's progeny._

It wasn't entirely fair of Kusuo to think such a thing; Yuuta was still only five after all, so it was hardly his fault that Teruhashi used his naïveté to accomplish her devious goals. And because it was Teruhashi manipulating the strings in this puppet show, Kusuo would feel like a total jerk if he didn't concede to the boy's requests simply to extract himself from Teruhashi's continued pursuit.

Even worse, Kusuo found it hard to fault Teruhashi for her attempts either. Not only did her inclusion of Yuuta on an almost daily basis thrill the boy to no end, she actually seemed to enjoy having him around now. Kusuo was pretty sure that was because she enjoyed using Kusuo's weapons and strategies against him and was taking a prolonged approach to revenge for ruining their "date" to the amusement park three summers ago, but it didn't change the fact that Yuuta adored her.

"That sounds amazing, Yuu-chan! Unfortunately, mine and Cyborg Cider-man #2's uniforms were ruined during our last battle against Baron Cola."

"Oh…" Yuuta deflated and Kusuo looked over at Teruhashi in surprise. Was she finally done playing her manipulative game? _Who would have guessed_…

Teruhashi clapped her hands and grinned. "So, I guess that means we'll have to spend the rest of the week making new ones!"

_I should have known_…

"Uwaaaa! Really? Really, really, really, really, really? You and Cyborg Cider-man #2 are going to make new uniforms? Can I help? Can I, can I, can I?"

"Of course, you can!"

"Yaaay!"

_Great. Another excuse to put off this project for yet another week._ Still, Kusuo couldn't help but smile at the combined enthusiasm of Yuuta and Teruhashi as she sat in front of the boy on her knees and held up both palms for him to slap with his own. The pair chatted about upgrades and material as Yuuta pulled out his newest weekly edition of the Cider-man comic book and flipped through to show "Peach-T Girl" his favorite version of Cyborg Cider-man #2's uniform.

Teruhashi caught Kusuo's gaze over Yuuta's head, her indigo eyes shimmering with success and humor as they both knew exactly what she was doing, and they both knew he had no choice but to go along with it. Not only did she have Yuuta on her side—and fair was fair, after all; he had used Yuuta's presence to further his own goals before—but she also had Kaa-san, who absolutely adored Teruhashi in every way.

So, like it or not, Kusuo had to put up with regular interruptions from Yuuta that "somehow" always ended up with him and Teruhashi at the park with the boy or watching Cyborg Cider-man side-by-side on the couch or gallivanting through the house reenacting Yuuta's favorite scenes from the Cider-man comics for hours on end until Kusuo's mother would call them all in for dinner, and Kusuo was left to pack up their largely untouched project to "work on" again the next day.

"What do you think about this?" Teruhashi asked as she sketched a new uniform for Peach-T Girl. "Nothing wrong with a few upgrades, right?"

"Yeah! Can you put a laser in your eyepatch too? That would be so cool, Peach-T Girl!"

Teruhashi giggled and rubbed Yuuta's hat. "I think I'll leave the laser shooting for my next upgrade. We can't do all of the cool things at once, right?"

_Yare, yare. Since when did Teruhashi-san become so good with kids_? Of course, it was always possible she still disliked Yuuta, but since Kusuo could no longer read her thoughts, he would never know. On the other hand, would anyone be willing to put up with the daily intrusions of someone they honestly couldn't stand? Not even Teruhashi was that perfect.

_Wait_, Kusuo sat up, his eyes widening of their own accord. **_Is_**_ she that perfect_?

But if Teruhashi was so perfect that she could spend time with someone she hated then she would have to convince herself that she didn't actually hate that person because human nature was to put as much distance between oneself and the object of one's distain as possible. So did that mean that Teruhashi's perfectness overcame her own human nature to change her dislike for Yuuta into genuine affection?

Kusuo stared, gobsmacked. _Are you even human_?

"Eh?" Teruhashi looked over, smiling above Yuuta's head as she absently passed him a pink crayon she'd gotten from who knew where. "Did you say something, Saiki-kun?"

Of course, he didn't say anything; was she trying to be coy? Because he wasn't falling for it. Not even for half a second.

Kusuo set his chin on his palm and looked away without a word. A heavy silence settled between them, Yuuta's excited chattering notwithstanding, that grew steadily denser until Kusuo caught Teruhashi shifting uncertainly from the corner of his eye. He glanced over, though he didn't move his head or drop his hand to do so. Surprisingly, Teruhashi looked nervous, and even a little guilty, as she fiddled with her hands in her lap and glanced at him in short, anxious spurts. Her fidgeting went on for so long, Kusuo thought he might have to break the silence until Teruhashi suddenly cleared her throat and gave Yuuta a strained smile.

"Ne, Yuu-chan. Oba-chan was planning to bring up some snacks in a little while, why don't you go see if she needs help?" Teruhashi winked and tapped her nose. "I'm pretty sure I smelled cookies when I came in."

"Cookies?! Yay!" Yuuta's eyes shone with stars as he jumped to his feet and waved a frantic good-bye. "I'll go help her bring them, okay? But don't you guys work on the new uniforms without me, okay Peach-T Girl and Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Of course not, Yuu-chan! We wouldn't dream of it." Teruhashi waved him off until the door was closed. Her smile instantly dimmed, and maybe Kusuo was crazy, but he would swear the light in his room dimmed with it.

Teruhashi settled both hands in her lap, her fingers twisting in ways that looked painful as she met his gaze with surprisingly fiery eyes. After another moment of silence, she bent suddenly forward in a pristine, 40-degree bow.

"I'm sorry, Saiki-kun."

_Wait, what_?

"I've dragged this out too long, haven't I?" She looked sad as she straightened up, her smile soft but pained. "You agreed to an obligatory gesture of gratitude in exchange for my help with the physical fitness test, and I twisted it to suit my own means."

_Hold on a second, what is she doing_? Kusuo's guts twisted with uncertainty.

"I know by now—of course I do—that you don't feel anything for me. If you did, you would have done something now that your powers are sealed, but I've liked you for so long that I couldn't help but hope that, just maybe, spending more time with me would change your mind."

Her indigo eyes were glassy, but she didn't tear up as she smiled brighter even as the lights in his room seemed to grow even dimmer. "But I realize now I'm just deluding myself with my own selfishness."

**_Stop_**_, Teruhashi-san. For the love of all coffee jelly, just **stop**_.

"You're a person with a solitary nature, and I've intruded on your solitude for long enough." She stood and patted down her uniform skirt. "We're almost done with the project, but I can finish it on my own. I won't have to come here anymore after tonight except for…well…It's still pretty selfish, but it's okay if I come to Yuu-chan's party, right? I'll bring the costumes too, so you don't have to worry about that. I'm the one who roped you into it, after all."

Kusuo sat, frozen by horror, as Teruhashi fished their nearly completed poster out from under the bed and held it with both hands so she could bow. _This really is happening_…

"I suppose I'll see you at school tomorrow, Saiki-kun, though I promise I'll keep my distance from now on."

Teruhashi reached for the door without hesitation, and Kusuo's eyes widened. Something inside him snapped as she grasped the knob and pulled it open. He leaped over the small kotatsu, stumbling a bit on Yuuta's abandoned cushion, and lurched forward to slap his hand flat against the door. It slammed shut, the knob ripping free of Teruhashi's small hand, and he pressed his other hand against the solid wood as well to make sure it stayed closed. This also had the unfortunate side-effect of pinning Teruhashi between his body and the door, but as long as he didn't touch her, that was fine.

"S-Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi looked over her shoulder with wide eyes and blushed when she found herself nose-to-nose (literally) with the former psychic. "What—?"

"You can't leave."

Shock crossed Teruhashi's face before it faded to confusion. "But…you don't want me here…?"

Kusuo nodded his agreement. "I don't, but you can't leave."

"W-why?" Her eyes dropped to his lips and Kusuo felt a sudden jolt up his spine as he realized how this probably looked to her. He could almost feel the gears in her mind turning as she definitely overthought his words and actions to a ridiculous degree. Her blush burned hotter and brighter until even her eyes seemed to be turning red. "Wh-what are you saying, Saiki-kun? Are…do you…?"

"Do you have any idea what will happen if you walk out my front door like this?" Kusuo nodded meaningfully as both his hands were still occupied with holding the door closed. Teruhashi, for her part, did look genuinely confused as she tilted her head at his response, but he could still read sadness all over her. If she left like that, she wouldn't even need her Angel Tears to end him, all she had to do was offer up some half-hearted excuse and Kusuo was a dead man.

The moment shattered, and Teruhashi blinked. "Huh?"

"My mom will kill me, Teruhashi-san. I'm not even exaggerating." Well, he was, but only a little.

The confusion on Teruhashi's face slowly morphed to disbelief as she turned around and put her back to the door. "Why would your mom kill you if I leave?"

_Is this girl for real_? No, she had to be doing that 'Perfect Pretty Girl' routine she always did where she pretended she didn't know how much everyone she met thought of her. That same uncomfortable ache from that time in the abandoned lot with Kaidoh and the others returned with a vengeance, clenching his heart in tandem with his clenching fists. He scowled down at her.

"Don't pretend you don't know how much my mom likes you. If she thinks you ran out of here because I treated you badly, I'll never hear the end of it."

Teruhashi's jaw dropped, and Kusuo suppressed a flinch. Was that too blunt? Would he have to deal with her hysterical crying now? Accusatory screams?

_Yare, yare_. How did he keep getting himself into these messes?

A soft giggle cut through Kusuo's anxious thoughts, startling him. He looked down in disbelief as Teruhashi put a fist to her lips to stifle even more giggles.

"Are you telling me, Saiki Kunio, that you, former psychic extraordinaire, are afraid of your mother?" More giggles. "Seriously?"

Kusuo scowled and tried to pretend he couldn't feel the heat rising on his cheeks. "You're laughing now, but you've never seen my mother angry. She's terrifying."

"Hah!" Giving up all attempts to stifle it, Teruhashi dropped their poster and doubled over with laughter until she was clutching her stomach with tears in her eyes. "Oh; oh, it hurts!"

Calming herself back to giggles, Teruhashi wiped away her tears of mirth and grinned up at him. "Oh, Saiki-kun, only you would make such a bold declaration as 'you can't go' and mean absolutely nothing by it."

Kusuo frowned. Should he be offended by that? Because he felt like he should be offended.

"I meant something by it," he said with far more resolution than he actually felt. Honestly, he was extremely confused; why had she started laughing? Did he say something funny? _He_ certainly didn't find it funny; the threat of impending doom was nothing to laugh at.

Teruhashi giggled again and patted his cheek twice in a way that made him feel younger than Yuuta. "Of course, you did, Saiki-kun."

Kusuo's frown deepened to a scowl. "I'm not a child, Teruhashi-san."

A sharp, fiery gleam appeared in Teruhashi's eye that Kusuo would call wicked, except God's perfect angel would obviously be incapable of such a thing.

"No," she said, looking him square in the eye. "You're definitely not a child."

Patting his cheek again, Teruhashi ducked around him and picked up their poster on her way back to the table. Kusuo stared at the door, bewildered. _What_?

He pushed away from the door and turned around. Teruhashi had her sketchbook out again and was working on their costumes for Yuuta's party as she hummed that song she always sang for their class karaoke parties at the end of every second year. She was smiling.

_I'll never understand girls_.

* * *

Kaliea: I absolutely loved writing this chapter. Nothing in it was really planned except that I needed Kusuo to be close to Yuuta because Yuu-chan is the linchpin for the overall craziness that is my plan. Kokomi got involved because I love how the two of them interact, especially now that she doesn't have to pretend around him :D

Anyway, one more chapter before the craziness officially begins! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing ^-^

Don't forget to review!


	8. Cyborg Sentai

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

_All told, I don't mind being the mascot for Yuuta's sixth birthday party. Not only do I actually kind of like the kid—he grows on you after a while—I also feel just the tiniest bit guilty. After all, it's my fault he never had the chance to turn six before now, and I'm sure it must really suck to go back and forth between four and five so many times, though considering his birthday is in July, he was pretty much always five. _

_So while I could have objected or found an excuse not to go, I didn't. I even let Teruhashi keep coming over so she could measure me and compare fabric samples with my skin color or whatever ridiculous thing she was doing. My only stipulation was that we finish our project first, which—surprise, surprise—we got done in a single, uninterrupted afternoon. What I didn't expected was what I found waiting for me on Saturday afternoon when my doorbell rang. _

_Now, I've always suspected this was true, but I never had any proof until that moment when I opened my front door dressed as Cyborg Cider-Man #2 on my way to the neighbor kid's sixth birthday party: Teruhashi Kokomi is not an angel. And if she's not the devil's mistress, it's only because she's the devil herself._

* * *

**Cyborg Sentai**

Kusuo looked himself over in the mirror once he'd finished dressing. The costume Teruhashi gave him was nothing like the uniform Cyborg Cider-man #2 wore in the comics or anime, but it still fit the image surprisingly well. Gone was the one-piece suit, thank whatever gods existed, and instead, Kusuo wore a pair of white cargo pants with a sky-blue, canvas belt. The pants tucked into a pair of dark blue combat boots with lighter blue laces and white soles. The white, form-fitting shirt was high-necked and sleeveless, but Teruhashi also included a blue-black leather jacket with sky-blue accents and a fitted waist that flared just a bit to where it ended right below the knee. It was actually a pretty bad-ass coat, and Kusuo wouldn't object to wearing it again when the weather turned cool.

His favorite part of the suit, however, was the lack of helmet. Instead, Teruhashi provided a pair of blue-lensed sunglasses very similar to his old green-lensed pair. They settled so comfortably on his face, they almost felt like a part of him. It was a bit weird seeing the world in shades of blue instead of green, but that didn't stop the nostalgia from creeping in.

The last thing Kusuo did while looking in the mirror was drape the long red scarf around his neck. It was far too hot for scarves, but he had to admit that it tied the look together nicely, and it was a huge step-up from that stupid neckerchief the 'real' Cyborg Cider-man #2 always wore.

With nothing left to do, Kusuo went downstairs to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang right on schedule, and Kusuo stifled a sigh. Partly from annoyance because it was obviously Teruhashi here to drag him off to be the main attraction at Yuuta's sixth birthday party, but mostly from relief. Kaa-san was relentless in her photoshoot and Tou-san relentless with his taunts. Though he had plenty of complimentary things to say about Teruhashi's impeccable sense of style and talent with a needle, he also made it pretty clear that Kusuo couldn't pull it off.

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo opened the door. _I've never been so happy to see Teruhashi-san before_.

It wasn't Teruhashi.

Kusuo stared at Nendou for all of five seconds, taking in the immaculate replica of Baron Cola's ridiculous costume from the soda-bottle hat to the eyepatch to the long black coat with the Dracula-esk collar. He even had pointy ears and white contacts.

Nendou grinned, flashing a pair of fangs. "Buddy!"

Kusuo slammed the door. The doorbell rang. Knowing what horror lay on the other side, Kusuo ignored it. The doorbell rang again.

"Ku-chan!" Kaa-san called cheerily from the kitchen where she'd disappeared to put the finishing touches on Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-Man #2 birthday cake. "Someone's at the door."

Kusuo eyed the kitchen door with an incredulous scowl. Did she think he was stupid? Or deaf?

The doorbell rang again.

"Ku-chan? I'm working with the piping bag; will you please get the door?"

No, no he would not. In fact, Kusuo was going back upstairs to remove his costume and spend the rest of the day binge-watching cringy day-time television. He strode past the kitchen on his way to the stairs, but Kaa-san's sweet voice made him pause.

"Ku-chan?"

Against his better judgement, Kusuo looked over his shoulder. Kaa-san smiled up at him, piping bag held skillfully with both hands, but it was a dark, ominous smile that promised unspeakable horrors.

"Aren't you going to answer the door for your friends? They're waiting for you to attend Yuu-chan's party."

Kusuo turned on the ball of his foot and strode purposefully forward as the doorbell rang again. He opened the door without preamble and was once again greeted by the sight of Nendou-Cola looming over him.

"Hey there, buddy! Did you grab what you forgot?"

Kusuo bit back a sigh and stepped outside, forcing Nendou to step aside or be run over. Not the least bit bothered, Nendou fell into step beside Kusuo as he strode down the walk to the front gate without a word.

"You're surprised right?" Nendou rubbed his nose with a self-satisfied grin. "After we all saw Teruhashi-san sewing that jacket during lunch, we asked what she was doing. I thought it was pretty cool how you guys are helping out that kid, so I volunteered to help too."

_Of course, you did._

"Teruhashi-san was gonna come get you herself, but I said I'd to do it for her, and she said that was a good idea."

_Of **course**, she did._

"I mean, we're best buddies and all, so of course, it should be me."

_I really wish you'd stop saying that; we're barely friends._

"And what with Teruhashi-san being busy and all, I figured it made the most sense."

_Busy with what?_

"She and the others are in that lot behind your house."

**_Which_**_ others?_

"Since there's not a lot of time to practice, we figured we'd get here early."

_Practice for **what**?_

Kusuo almost broke down and asked, but they were already rounding the corner for the lot, so he stayed silent. Good thing too; his voice probably would have broken off mid-sentence with a shocked crack that would rival the most pubescent of pubescent boys.

The formerly vacant lot was entirely unrecognizable as it was now packed to the brim with studio lights, a gleaming, silver trailer, racks and racks of colorful costumes, high chairs with folding wood frames and canvas support with different surnames embroidered on the backrests in English lettering, and dozens upon dozens of frantically scrambling people dressed in identical, navy blue coveralls with BACKSTAGE written across the backs in English. Looking a little closer, Kusuo recognized several of the boys as Kokomins—members of Teruhashi's rabid fan club—which explained how she'd gathered them so quickly and on such short notice.

Amidst them all stood Teruhashi. Her back was to him, so all he saw was the calf-length expanse of her white, leather long-coat and her shimmery indigo hair that hung loose to the middle of her back.

"I want that ramp set up five minutes ago!" Teruhashi ordered in an uncharacteristically militant voice. Usually, she spoke to everyone with an annoying level of grace and civility, but this Teruhashi was like a completely different person. Well, almost completely different. While she was certainly acting more authoritative than normal, but the men falling over themselves to complete their assigned tasks was exactly as expected. She could stand over them with a whip cackling madly, and they would still be grateful for the chance to be her lackeys.

The trailer door opened outward, shielding the former occupant from Kusuo's vision, but the hesitant voice instantly revealed who it was.

"Um…ah…Teruhashi-san?" Kaidoh stuck out a gloved hand from beyond the shielding door and waved. "Are you sure about this?"

"Eh? What is it, Kaidoh-kun?" Teruhashi hurried over to look behind the door. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as sparkles seemed to erupt from her eyes. "Kaidoh-kun! You're so adorable!"

Kusuo's eyebrows shot up. _Adorable_?

"Oi, Chibi!" Nendou hurried forward. "Let me see!"

"No way!"

Kaidoh tried to shut himself back inside the trailer, but Nendou grabbed the door before he could get it closed. Looking around the side, Nendou burst out laughing. "Wow, you really are adorable!"

_Okay, now I'm curious…_

Nendou grabbed Kaidoh's arm and hauled him into view. "Hey, buddy! Look at Chibi-chan! Ain't he adorable?"

"Oi, Nendou!" Kaidoh struggled vainly in his friend's too strong grip. "Cut it out!"

Kaidoh was dressed as Cyborg Qoo in a chartreuse one-piece with short sleeves and long pants. His gloves and boots were orange with white edging along the tops but were solid black at the toes and fingers. He also had on a white belt with a buckle shaped like a wooden ship's helm, a pair of enormous, circular goggles with orange lenses, a vermillion neckerchief like Kusuo's, and a tiny white sailor hat perched atop his spiky, ice blue hair.

_Adorable_.

Not that Kusuo would ever, _ever_ say so aloud.

"What's all that noise?"

_Of course, Kuboyasu is here. Why am I even surprised?_

Kuboyasu stepped out of the trailer as well, though he didn't hesitate or try to hide. His costume was surprisingly familiar to Kusuo, but it took him a minute to remember why.

_Ah; he's Cyborg Ramune_.

The sky-blue one-piece suit was a surprisingly good match for the tall, lean, former yankee. His white gloves and boots were edged with gold, matching the gold, white, and navy accents on the suit itself, and he also had a vermillion neckerchief. He'd taken off his glasses to accommodate the helmet as well, but he currently held the stupid looking accessory under his left arm instead of wearing it. Kusuo didn't blame him; the thing looked like a blue version of Cell's head from Dragon Ball Z.

_Creepy_.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Kuboyasu put a hand to his chin and looked Kaidoh up and down with a snarky grin. "Looking good, Shun."

"Sh-shut up!"

The trailer door opened again.

_Another one? Seriously?_

"All right!" Hairo charged out wearing a white one-piece suit with cobalt-blue boots and gloves. Hairo's suit also had blue accents and a red neckerchief, but he wore a pair of white rimmed, oversized sunglasses with blue lenses instead of a helmet. He was also sweating profusely. "Let's goooo!"

_Cyborg Pokari Sweat. How suitable._

"Heh, just like a peasant; always running around without a single thought or care."

Kusuo looked back at the wood and canvas chairs to find Saiko lounging with a tall glass of mostly ice and too little soda, though the glass was filled to the brim.

_When did **he** get there?_

Dressed as Cyborg Mitsuya, Saiko had one leg crossed, drawing attention to his emerald green boots, and wore—of course—a white one-piece suit with emerald green gloves and accents. Like Kuboyasu, he'd chosen not to put on his green-visored helmet just yet, which made his vermillion neckerchief stand out even more.

_What's with all the stupid neckerchiefs_?

The trailer door opened again.

_How many people can **fit** in there? Is it the Tardis?_

"Sorry we're late!" Yumehara stepped into view followed closely by Mera who was voraciously snacking on an extra-large box of chocolate pocky. "Has the rehearsal started yet?"

Yumehara had on a pink one-piece suit with a built-in skirt. Her gloves and boots were both a bright, strawberry red that matched her strawberry shaped belt buckle, and her helmet was bright green. Mera, like Saiko and Hairo, wore a white one-piece suit—also with a built-in skirt—covered in blue dots that matched her blue lensed goggles. Her gloves and boots were golden-brown, and she was the only girl with a red neckerchief. Strawberry Milk Girl and Calpico Girl.

_Of course._

"Not yet." Teruhashi propped a fist beneath her chin as she looked over the clipboard in her left hand. "We're still waiting for Saiki-kun. Nendou-kun, didn't you go get him?"

"Eh?" Nendou looked up from tugging on a blushing Kaidoh's neckerchief tails. "Buddy? Yeah, I got him." He pointed. "He's waiting over there."

Teruhashi turned around, and Kusuo's breath caught. Beneath her white, leather coat, she had on a high necked, pink, one-piece suit with short shorts instead of pants. The shorts cut-off just above mid-thigh and left her long, pale legs bare to mid-calf where her pink boots started. The white belt she wore drew an obscene amount of attention to her narrow waist and wide hips, a sight that made Kusuo's fingers ache for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom. The eyepatch she wore over her left eye was heart-shaped, as expected, but it was blue instead of the pinky-red he remembered from the anime.

The same blue as Kusuo's leather coat.

_Offu_. As usual, he kept the response inside, but it annoyed him that she managed to get the reaction she wanted out of him, however silent. Why was it always the little things that caught him off guard when her beauty—while undeniable—barely fazed him?

A smile blossomed on Teruhashi's beautiful face. "You're here!" She frowned. "You're late."

Kusuo stared at her for a moment, puzzling her out, before turning his attention back toward the activity buzzing through the vacant lot like worker bees in a hive. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, well…" Teruhashi looked around at their friends, blushing a bit, and rubbed her cheek with one finger. "You see, when I was working on your costume at school, everyone saw and wanted to know what I was doing. Then, when I told them about Yuu-chan's birthday party, Nendou-kun insisted that he would be a great Baron Cola."

"And while everyone was talking, I was looking through Kokomi-chan's copy of the comic and mentioned how much Kaidoh-kun reminded me of Cyborg Qoo, and Chisato-chan started drooling over the different sodas and said she'd join in if there were free samples—"

Kaidoh cut Yumehara off. "Which got Saiko started on "peasant this" and "peasant that," so Aren dared him to put his money where his soda was—"

"Naturally, I find it appalling to participate in such a plebeian event, but I couldn't very well let you all run amok with _my_ money when not one of you has the vision or sense that I, as a man of both, was born with."

Kuboyasu snorted. "And if this snub was doin' it then, of course, _I_ couldn't back out. I ain't no damned sissy."

Kusuo refrained from pointing out the former yankee was currently dressed in a skin-tight, blue leotard and turned back to Teruhashi. "And Hairo?"

The class-rep was too busy running laps around the lot to speak for himself.

Everyone looked at each other, blinking in surprise, before they looked back at Kusuo and shrugged.

"He's Hairo-kun?" Teruhashi offered. Kusuo watched Hairo fall into a shadow boxing routine before resuming his seventeenth circuit around the lot.

"Fair enough."

Unfortunately, Kusuo didn't have any options to escape now that he was there, and Teruhashi wasted no time in dragging him over to the wood-framed, canvas chairs and forcing him down into the one labeled "Saiki". The others chatted happily as they slipped into their own chairs, though Hairo chose to stay standing as he didn't want to risk getting out of character.

_Considering you **are** the character, I'm pretty sure that's impossible._

It was honestly kind of creepy how much his friends resembled the heroes (and villain) of a product placement anime aimed at children. In fact, they were only one character short of the full Cyborg Sentai. It would be amazing if it wasn't so stupid.

Scripts were handed out at Teruhashi's order, and Kusuo accepted his with resignation. Why he thought he'd get out of this birthday party with a simple cameo and a few handshakes, he'd never guess. After all, whenever Teruhashi was involved, things always had a way of blowing out of proportion.

Speaking of which, Kusuo mentioned Teruhashi's prolific sewing abilities, but she waved a hand and laughed it off. "The only things I made were your outfit and mine. The rest of this is borrowed from my brother. He's been cast as Cyborg Yakult in the upcoming live-action adaptation, and all of these are the costumes they plan to use. He let us borrow them as a favor to me for my birthday."

That made sense. And while Kusuo was loath to accept any help from the pervert lest he think to hold it over Kusuo's head, he decided to let it go this once. The favor was to Teruhashi, after all, not Kusuo himself.

It was a simple enough act. Kusuo and Teruhashi would go in first in their "civilian" forms to greet the children, shake hands, sign autographs, and do all the other typical, easy things Kusuo had expected from the start. Then, using the rear lot as their staging ground, a band of Cyborg Cider-man #2's greatest villains would attack, including L-Ginger, Lemonade Fiend, Melon Mumbler, and Lady Matcha, while being led by Baron Cola himself.

After riling up the crowd a bit, Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Peach-T Girl would put in a call for reinforcements, which their friends would answer by using the same ramp to leap over the wall in their uniforms. They would start fighting off the bad guys while Kusuo and Teruhashi stepped behind a false backdrop to change into their battle uniforms so they could join in.

As the rest of his friends were playing heroes, Nendou-Cola's posse would be made up of Saiko's best bodyguards, which meant they were all professionals. This was very good because Kusuo could easily see a fake fight between these two groups devolving to an all-out, no-holds-barred brawl. Honestly, Kuboyasu was Kusuo's biggest concern. Hairo was a black belt in judo and knew how to pull his punches, Saiko would probably throw his money around before his fists, and Kaidoh…

_Yeah, something tells me the Jet-Black Wings won't be a problem._

The girls weren't much of a concern either; he doubted any of them knew how to make a fist never mind throw a punch. That only left Nendou and Kusuo. Since he hadn't yet been able to get a solid measure on his strength, Kusuo agreed that it was best to take on Nendou by himself as his "best buddy" was unlikely to attempt serious harm even if he got carried away. Besides, Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Baron Cola were the bitterest of archenemies; it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to fight him head-on.

The group was running their lines a third time when one of Teruhashi's cover-all clad lackeys came up and cleared his throat at her shoulder. "Excuse me, Teruhashi-san? You asked me to keep an eye on how the party was going."

"Oh?" Teruhashi checked her watch in surprise before she turned with a grin. "I can't believe it's already been two hours! Is everything going well? Yuu-chan is having fun, right?"

The man looked suddenly nervous as he tugged a lock of his magenta hair. "Um, actually, it seems the other kids are picking on him when the adults aren't looking."

Teruhashi's expression went flat, but the brave man only gulped and continued. "They said he was lying about knowing Cider-man and Peach-T Girl or else they would have shown up by now."

Teruhashi's face went dark. The man faltered, but no one could ever accuse him of not having guts. "I-Iridatsu-kun looked quite upset at some of their words. One of the boys kicked dirt at him, then sneered when Iridatsu-kun refused to fight back because, in his own words, "being a hero is about more than being the best bully." I'm afraid that didn't win him any friends, though. One of the girls in his class called him a coward. Considering his expression, I think it's safe to say he likes her."

Judging by _her_ expression, if Teruhashi had pyrokinesis, the entire world would be on fire. "I see. Thank you, Namiharu-san."

Namiharu gave a quick, almost impolite bow and scurried off with a relieved expression on his pallid face. Teruhashi turned to the rest of the group and looked them over with a cold eye. Even Kusuo felt a bead of sweat slide down the back of his neck at the thought of earning her ire.

"You know your parts," she said darkly. "Let's go."

#

Teruhashi rang the doorbell with a trembling finger, and Kusuo wondered if he should say something before she boiled over with barely suppressed rage. He understood why she was upset, of course, Kusuo was surprised at how angry he was over Yuuta's treatment at the hands of those kids too, but he was used to releasing his pent-up emotions to the ether—being a telepath had given him ample opportunities to be upset at family, friends, and random strangers alike without being able to act on said feelings—while he doubted Teruhashi had ever been in the position to be truly upset in her life.

Teruhashi Kokomi was a girl blessed by God with an easy, uncomplicated life. Everywhere she went, people went out of their way to help her, compliment her, even worship her in some more disturbing cases, so it stood to reason she'd never wanted for anything in her life—not clothes, not food, not kindness, nor attention. She'd never been ignored, brushed aside, or made fun of for anything because there was nothing about her that could be ignored, brushed off, or made fun of in anyway.

In fact, Kusuo would lay money on him being the first complicated, frustrating, unattainable thing to ever happen to her. And if Kusuo was the first, there was no denying that Iridatsu Yuuta was the second.

He should have realized sooner how alike Teruhashi's relationship with Yuuta was to her relationship with himself. Both started out abnormally for Teruhashi's well-defined sense of reality with Kusuo ignoring her and Yuuta out-right disliking her. Both boys had done their ample best to keep Teruhashi at arms-length, but she'd rallied admirably until Yuuta was enamored by his beloved Peach-T Girl and Kusuo had grudgingly admitted, if only to himself, that he saw her as friend. And not just any friend, either, but a _good_ friend.

Yuuta's adoration and Kusuo's friendship were probably the only two things Teruhashi had ever fought for in her life, and that only made ownership of them all the more important to her, which in turn made Yuuta and Kusuo important to her. Very important.

It was a startling realization for Kusuo as he eyed his friend, trembling head to foot with indignant rage, as she put on her perfect, pretty-girl smile and prepared to make Yuuta's day while simultaneously making the days—and future days—of his enemies a living hell. Or as close to it as Teruhashi could justify when faced with a hoard of five and six-year-olds.

Something inside Kusuo stretched toward Teruhashi, aching to pull her to him and hold her close, but he slammed it down with the iron hammer of his will. He may be willing to admit that he and Teruhashi were friends, but that was it. He'd come too far to throw in the towel now. No matter what she did, Kusuo would never give her the 'offu' she wanted.

Still, if her trembling grew any stronger, she'd vibrate right through the pavement.

_Yare, yare._

Kusuo dropped a hand on Teruhashi's shoulder, and she jumped at the unexpected contact. Her finger was still on the doorbell, so she accidentally rang it again from the sudden jolt. Blushing—it wouldn't do for a perfect pretty-girl to appear impatient by over-ringing a doorbell—Teruhashi jerked her hand back and looked up at Kusuo with her eyebrows slightly drawn in confusion.

"Saiki-kun?"

Kusuo gently squeezed her shoulder. "Getting angry won't do anything for Yuuta. You need to calm down, Teruhashi-san."

Teruhashi's blush deepened, though from anger rather than embarrassment. "How can you say that?" She hissed. "After what those kids did to him?"

"That's why we're here; to set the record straight. Yuuta will be vindicated and those kids too embarrassed to say anything against him."

Teruhashi looked mutinous, so Kusuo turned her and took both of her shoulders in a firm grip. He pulled her half-a-step closer and leaned in, meeting her one visible eye through his blue-tinted glasses. "Yuuta is at a vulnerable age, Teruhashi-san. Don't make things worse by rampaging through his friends—no matter how fickle they may be."

"Then, what?" Frustrated tears gathered at the corners of her eyes while her trembling mouth turned down in an angry scowl. "I'm just supposed to let the little brats get away with treating Yuu-chan like that? Just look the other way and smile pretty because he has to handle it himself?"

Kusuo's grip on her arms tightened as his own cold rage burned just the slightest bit hotter. "I never said that. We'll get even, Teruhashi-san, but no good will come from doing it while angry. Remember, we're the adults here; we'll show them it's a bad idea to mess with Yuuta because it means having to mess with us."

A slow, vicious smile overtook Teruhashi's face and damn if it wasn't the most beautiful, sexy expression he'd ever seen her wear. That stretching, grasping part of him took over with a lurch, and he started to lean in before the front door opened. Yuuta's father appeared, and Kusuo immediately released Teruhashi and stepped back. Not usually home because of his incredibly involved job, Iridatsu Kouta looked unnaturally rumpled in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt instead of his usual suit with his green hair—identical to Yuuta's—in a wild tangle instead of slicked back by gel.

Relief shattered the frazzled panic on Kouta's face when his eyes landed on Kusuo and Teruhashi, and he quickly hurried over to open the front gate and let them in. "Thank God you're here. I swear the kids were about to riot!"

"Sorry we took so long." Teruhashi smiled her patented pretty-girl smile as she followed behind Yuuta's father. "There were a few last-minute adjustments to make."

"Whatever it was, I'm just glad you're here." The relief on Kouta's face faded slightly as pained lines appeared on his forehead. "I don't think Yuuta is well-liked at his kindergarten; so many of the other children are being mean to him when they think no one's looking, but there isn't much I can do to discipline someone else's children, no matter how much I want to spank them all and sit them in a corner."

"Don't worry," Kusuo said before Teruhashi could. "We're here to take care of that too."

* * *

Kaliea: So this situation, with Kusuo and Kokomi playing the part of CS2 and PTG was sort of planned and sort of not. I knew I wanted to see it because it would be hilarious and adorable, but I wasn't quite sure how I would go about it. Originally, I thought I would have the two of them showing up at a planned event for a community festival, but Kusuo would never agree to play CS2 in public (without being forced at the last minute). So, Yuuta's birthday it was. Next chapter, things get nuts :D

Thanks for reading!


	9. Queen of Trash

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

_Now I realize a lot of you may think I'm acting out of character by going along with Teruhashi-san's plans for Yuuta's party, but let's be honest, with Teruhashi-san, Nendou, Kaidoh, and even my mom involved, there's no way I can get out of participating without a huge fuss. If I had my powers, I'd just teleport somewhere until everything was over, but you have to remember that I'm an ordinary guy now, and that means I'm subject to the whims and schemes of my friends and family, just like every other ordinary guy._

_That said, it's easier just to go along with Teruhashi-san's plan without complaint because the sooner it's done, the sooner I can leave. Besides, Teruhashi-san promised me coffee jelly at Café Mami afterwards, and who would say no to that?_

* * *

**Queen of Trash**

As expected, reactions were mixed when Teruhashi and Kusuo stepped into the backyard. The adults looked amused but largely dismissive while the kids were torn between awe and jealous disbelief. Yuuta wasted no time in running over and enveloping Peach-T Girl's knees in an exuberant hug.

"You're here!" Yuuta grinned up at her, though he was clearly forcing it just a bit. "You finally came!"

"Of course, Yuu-chan!" Teruhashi smiled her pretty-girl smile, though Kusuo noted there was a certain coldness to it that was never there before. "Sorry we're late. Miss Bubble-Gum was making a fuss across town, so we had to stop her on our way."

To corroborate her story, Teruhashi gleefully produced a bottle of pink, bubble-gum flavored soda. "Here! I made sure to bottle some just for you."

"Wow!" Stars shown in Yuuta's eyes as he accepted the offered soda with near reverence. "Thanks so much, Peach-T Girl!"

Yuuta bounced away to show off his new soda to his parents. His mother ooo-ed and aww-ed as expected while his father offered them a grateful nod that Kusuo returned because Teruhashi was being interrogated by a gang of six-year-olds.

"Are you _really_ Peach-T Girl?" A blue-haired boy said with such rude condescension, Kusuo was tempted to pop him on the head and tell him to watch his mouth. Judging by the vein popping in Teruhashi's forehead, she was resisting the same urge.

"I really am!"

"Hmpf." The snotty boy crossed his arms and looked around at his little posse with his nose in the air. "I don't believe you."

The vein in Teruhashi's forehead grew more pronounced; her smile more forced. "Oh?"

"If you're the real Peach-T Girl, where's your uniform? Peach-T Girl wears a helmet and a power suit, not a dumb jacket."

_Now hold on, her jacket is **not** dumb. _Like the one she'd made for Kusuo, Teruhashi's leather jacket was the epitome of bad-assery. It must have taken her days to make.

Deciding to back her up, he was the Cyborg Cider-man #2 to her Peach-T Girl, after all, Kusuo stepped forward and crossed his arms.

"Well, well." The unfamiliar voice felt slimy and amused as it wafted over Kusuo's shoulder. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Kusuo spun around, scrambling to put as much distance between himself and the unknown Nendou-bug that had appeared behind him. The man looked older, about late twenties to early thirties, but he didn't seem to be the parent of one of Yuuta's friends. Unlike the other adults, who had dressed casually for a day lounging about a friend's yard in simple sundresses, jeans, khakis, and polos, this man wore an impeccably tailored charcoal gray, slim-fit suit matched with a black oxford shirt and a black silk tie.

Only the first of the suit coat's two buttons was fastened, which let the man stand casually with one hand in his pocket and gave him an air of casual arrogance that was enhanced by the small, silver hoop in his left ear. His shoulder-length, ebony hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck, matching his ominous black eyes that somehow seemed dead despite his polite smile.

Kusuo eyed the man warily as he adjusted the silver cufflinks holding together the sleeves of his black oxford shirt. Based on his coloring, bone-structure, impressive height for a Japanese male, and the furtive, giddy glances of the neighborhood mothers, this man was considered quite attractive and should, therefore, be difficult to forget.

Kusuo had no clue who he was. He supposed it was possible that they'd met when his x-ray vision was still in full effect. If their introduction was brief enough, Kusuo wouldn't have cycled through the man's layers enough to piece together a general description, even with his eidetic memory.

The man tilted his head with an amused smile, as if he could guess Kusuo's thoughts. He chuckled. "When your power signature disappeared from the vicinity three months ago and didn't come back, we assumed someone stronger must have taken you out."

Kusuo's brow furrowed. What was this guy talking about? Who even was he? He looked normal enough, but there was this dark presence that seemed to ooze off him like miasmic tar, clouding the air around him. And what did he mean by taken out? By someone _stronger_?

Bringing up his fist, the man stifled a laugh. "Oh my, it seems you weren't aware, were you? That there really are people in this world as strong as you were. And whether you believe it or not, some are stronger still."

Kusuo ground his teeth. "Who are you?"

"Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi stepped up beside him, her brow furrowed with concern. "You're suddenly so tense." She eyed the strange man, recoiling slightly before coming back to herself and straightening up with a blinding smile. "Hello, are you one of the parents? My name is—"

The man snorted, looking down his nose at Teruhashi with a level of disgust that amazed Kusuo. He never would have thought anyone could look at Teruhashi that way, like she was mold growing in a box of forgotten takeout found at the very back of the fridge. Even Kusuke had recognized, at least to some degree, where Teruhashi fit in the universal social structure, but this man? He was looking at Teruhashi as if she wasn't fit to lick his shoes.

"I know who you are." The man sneered. "Teruhashi Kokomi; seventeen-years-old. You're quite powerful in the lowest circles, but the queen of trash is still just trash."

Teruhashi stared, her eyes wide and her face slack as if she didn't know what to say. Kusuo didn't blame her. This was even worse than the New Year's they were forced to spend walking around the temple with his idiot brother.

"You…" Teruhashi tried again. "What…?"

"Why don't you run along, little girl? Before you end up hurt."

Kusuo stepped to the side, putting himself between Teruhashi and the strange man. "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but this is a kid's birthday party. If you don't have business here, leave."

Amusement lent an undead light to his pupil-less black eyes. "Or what, tough guy?" He looked Kusuo over from head to foot and back again. He grinned. "You'll make me?"

"Look, look, look, Cyborg Cider-man #2! Mimiko-chan got me a helmet just like yours!" Yuuta ran over with an over-sized replica of the Cyborg Cider-man #2 helmet sitting jauntily on his head. It was so large, he had to tilt his head all the way back so he could meet Kusuo's eyes. Yuuta grinned. "Now I'm just like you, aren't I, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Yuuta." Kusuo reached for the boy who was uncomfortably close to the unknown man. "Come here—"

The man's hands dropped onto both of Yuuta's shoulders. "No need for that, Cyborg Cider-Man #2. I'm just here to wish the birthday boy congratulations on making it to his sixth year."

He smiled down at Yuuta, who had somehow tilted his head back even further so he could look up at the man's kind face and dead eyes.

"After all." The man's grip tightened enough that Yuuta winced. "No one expected him to last this long."

"Saiki-kun—!" Teruhashi ordered, but Kusuo might as well have read her mind. He lunged forward, punching the man in the jaw with all his strength. Shockingly, instead of dropping like he should have done with a punch that heavy, the man only fell back a few steps, rubbing at his jaw with the back of his hand. Still, he'd let go of Yuuta, and that's what mattered.

"Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Not right now." Kusuo scooped Yuuta up before spinning around to press him into Teruhashi's arms. He gave her a firm look. "Don't let go of him."

Teruhashi clutched Yuuta to her chest as if he were the Holy Grail. "Of course!"

Putting himself back in front of Teruhashi and Yuuta, Kusuo sized the strange man up. A bit of fringe had fallen loose from his otherwise impeccable ponytail, and there was a line of blood from the corner of his mouth to his chin where his tooth must have caught his lip. Straightening up, the man flicked the blood from his face with his thumb before slicking his hair back with both hands.

"I must say, that was quite impressive considering your current state." He started circling Kusuo, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he walked. Kusuo turned with him, careful to keep Teruhashi and Yuuta behind him at all times as he unwound the scarf from his neck and handed it off to Teruhashi. She took it without a word.

"What did you do, exactly? Your powers are gone, no doubts there, but that shouldn't be possible. Even a seal would only suppress them; nothing should be able to erase them completely. And yet, here you are; not dead and no powers. How?"

Kusuo said nothing as he undid the buttons on his own coat. He'd never been in a fight before, so he didn't know how they usually broke out, but something inside him said that's exactly where this was going. The other adults seemed to recognize it too as they'd stopped chatting about their jobs or families and had started mumbling to one another, wondering what was going on. Yuuta's parents looked especially concerned, though for the moment, they seemed content to let things play out. They obviously hadn't seen that man put his hands on Yuuta; otherwise, they wouldn't be so nonchalant.

"You realize you have nothing on me." The man held out his hands, palms up, as if to placate him. "With your powers gone, you don't stand a chance."

"Maybe."

The man laughed then shrugged dramatically, raising both hands almost over his head. "Well, I tried to warn you."

"Teruhashi-san." Kusuo shrugged off his coat and handed it back. Teruhashi took it, but he didn't let go. "Call the Sentai."

"Hai."

Kusuo let go of his coat and settled into a loose stance. He may have never been in a fight before, but his psychic training had been brutal. And while his powers may be gone, his body still remembered the rigorous regime he had followed every morning for five long years.

The man pulled off his own jacket and tossed it over his shoulder before rolling up his sleeves.

_Yare, yare._ Kusuo raised his fists, prepping for the first attack. _So much for ordinary_.

* * *

Kaliea: I loved the idea of Kusuo stepping in as the superhero during season one so much, I couldn't resist giving him a real bad-guy to fight :) Next chapter: Kusuo and the gang find out who this guy is.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!


	10. Dark Reunion

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

_Somehow, the author seems to have forgotten that mine is a comedic story. It's supposed to be light-hearted and stupid with running gags and short-lived jokes. But of course, this is a fanfiction, and fanfiction authors are never satisfied with the simple things; they have an authorial obligation to make things as convoluted and complicated as possible._

_Take the current situation, for example: Why did this strange guy only show up after my powers were gone? Because the author thought it would make things more interesting. _

_Yare, yare. Do I **look** like the kind of guy who wants a more interesting life? _

_No, I want an **ordinary** life, but the fans just can't be happy with that, can they? If they're not speculating about that **entirely coincidental** glass breaking incident at the end of the anime and manga meaning my powers aren't gone, they're making up ridiculous, unrealistic scenarios for the sole purpose of ruining my ordinary life._

_Well congratulations; my ordinary life is ruined._

_I hope you're all satisfied._

* * *

**Dark Reunion**

The strange man moved so quickly, Kusuo almost couldn't track him. Fortunately, Kusuo's sharp memory allowed him to think fast—even faster than the people he'd accidentally brainwashed into believing fast thought-processing was normal—and predict which direction the man would come from. He got his left arm up to deflect the man's punch and used the skills he'd collected from his one judo class to get him in a shoulder throw. The man went up and over, as planned, but managed to shift his weight while in the air to pull free and land on his feet. He twisted before Kusuo could recover and caught his heel in Kusuo's side with a reverse-kick that actually sent Kusuo flying. Only a few feet, but still.

Cries of alarm went up from the kids and their parents as everyone scattered to the edges of the suddenly too small yard. Kusuo hit the ground with a grunt, rolling once or twice before coming to one knee with far less grace than he wanted to. His right ribs pulsed with a fiery ache that Kusuo forced himself to believe was minor. After all, while he may not have his powers anymore, ordinary people had become very good at recovering quickly from most wounds. And since Kusuo was now ordinary, that should apply to him too.

A small corner of Kusuo's brain tried to remind him that he'd never been able to use most of his powers on himself—including the power of brainwashing—but he shoved it aside. Now wasn't the time for obscure rules and fringe logic.

"You're one tough bastard, aren't you?"

"Unfortunately," Kusuo said as he climbed to his feet, resisting the urge to curl up in a fetal position and cradle his throbbing side. _How do ordinary people stand feeling pain_? "I'm 100% legitimate."

The man laughed. "You're much funnier than you were reported being."

"Oh, yeah? Reported by whom?"

"Mindless worker drones; we have at least one in every school containing a person of interest. We had three in your school alone, one in each year. Of course, the third-year drone graduated in April and the second-year drone transferred to Hokkaido for his father's job. We still have that first-year girl, but we couldn't exactly tell her to look in on someone so low-key, especially an upperclassman; she might ask questions, and we have no use for drones with questions. That's why we thought you were dead." The man shook his head with a laugh. "Well, I say 'thought,' but it's more that we hoped."

Kusuo gritted his teeth as the pain in his side seemed to be growing worse by the second. The part of him in pain wanted this guy to just shut up and come at him—or better yet, run away—so they could get this over with, but his smarter side urged him to keep the guy talking. The more he talked, the more information Kusuo had to work with.

"Who is this 'we' you keep mentioning?" Kusuo demanded. "Who _are_ you?"

"Ah, of course. Forgive my rudeness."

_Not likely_.

"My name is Amamiya Hotaru, and I am a Collector for Dark Reunion."

Static fuzzed through Kusuo's brain as he stared at Amamiya with zero comprehension. "What?"

"Well, _that's_ not the usual reaction I get." Amamiya frowned. "Usually it's: Dark Reunion? Or: Dark Reunion! Punctuation makes all the difference; you know?"

If this was Kaidoh's idea of a joke, Kusuo was going to _kill_ him.

"HAH!" Three bodies came flying over the Iridatsu family's back fence dressed in colorful uniforms. Cyborg Ramune and Cyborg Pokari Sweat he expected; Calpico Girl was a surprise. But considering how she'd behaved on that island they were stranded on a few years back, she probably should have been Kusuo's first guess for backup.

"Cyborg Cider-man #2!" Hairo said, flinging his arms about dramatically even though his mouth was completely visible because of his goggles. _You're not a Power Ranger_. "We received Peach-T Girl's distress call! What is the trouble?"

"No, seriously, man, what's the deal?" Kuboyasu frowned around the yard at the confused and sheltering forms of Yuuta's friends and their parents. "Why did Teruhashi-san call for us instead of Nendou?"

Then Kuboyasu's eyes landed on Amamiya's rolled up sleeves and the pained look on Kusuo's face. His eyes narrowed through his dark blue visor before he cracked his neck and knuckles simultaneously. "I see. Not sure who this Suit is, but we'll take care of him."

Amamiya looked surprised as he eyed Kuboyasu and Hairo up and down. "Well, Saiki-kun, I didn't realize you had other Talented friends, and they're pretty high-level too, for trash. It seems we need to school our drones more carefully in the future."

"Stop right there, denizen of evil!"

Everyone turned to find Kaidoh standing atop the garden wall with his hand outstretched. A light breeze rustled his spiky blue hair and fluttered the tails of his neckerchief. His face was bold, but the effect was ruined by his knocking knees and trembling arm.

"How dare you intrude upon this festive occasion! For such an infraction, I, the Jet-Black Wings, shall—!"

"Ah, Kaidoh-kun?" Yumehara tapped his booted foot from where she'd sat on the edge of the wall to jump down and join the others. "You're Cyborg Qoo, remember?"

"Oh…ah…um…" Kaidoh floundered, rubbing at his head as he lost the momentum of his speech. Then he made the mistake of looking down at the yard 'far' below, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out.

"Kaidoh-kun!"

"How unsightly," said Cyborg Mitsuya, who was standing to Kusuo's left. Kusuo jumped. _Where did you **come** from_?! He was almost worse than Nendou!

"Ahhh!" Yuuta went completely nuts. "It's the Cyborg Sentai! The Cyborg Sentai is at my house! Peach-T Girl, Peach-T Girl, put me down! It's the Cyborg Sentai; the Cyborg Sentai is here!"

"Yuu-chan, shush!" Teruhashi shifted her grip and tapped his lips twice with one finger. "This is very dangerous, right now. You need to be quiet, okay?"

Yuuta's eyes went wide and started dripping stars, but he nodded frantically and didn't say anything more.

In the meantime, Hairo, Kuboyasu, and Mera spread out to flank Amamiya, but he didn't seem to notice. He was still staring at the wall where Yumehara now had Kaidoh's head in her lap as she fanned him with her pink, lacy handkerchief. Amamiya looked completely blindsided, which was an interesting contrast to his carefully coifed image. He turned to Kusuo with an incredulous gleam in his black eyes, which took away some of their deadness, and pointed at Kaidoh.

"_That's_ the Jet-Black Wings? _Seriously_? Other than _that_ kid—" he pointed at Yuuta "—he's supposed to be the strongest Reborn there is!"

"_Kaidoh_?!"

Shocked glances were shared all around as none of the P.K. students could comprehend what this Suit was trying to say. He was from Dark Reunion? The Jet-Black Wings was an ultra-powerful being? An ultra-powerful being that _Yuuta_ was supposed to be stronger than?

_Please, God, let this all be a nightmare._

"Damn." Amamiya gritted his teeth and looked around, his eyes lingering on everyone in a power suit as he backed toward the yard's front gate. "How are there so many Talents at your good for nothing school? And how did we not _know_ about them?" He shook his head. "Never mind; we know about you now, and that's what matters."

"Hold on, Suit." Kuboyasu grinned, though the extent of its evilness was hidden behind his helmet's visor. "You're not planning to leave yet, are you? This party's just getting started!"

Amamiya straightened up and looked down his nose at Kuboyasu with a sneer strong enough to make Saiko jealous. He unrolled his sleeves. "You all may be trash, but people can drown in trash if enough of it gathers together."

_That makes no sense._

"Be grateful we were underprepared for your little trash brigade, Saiki Kusuo." He pulled on his suit coat—_Wait, where did he get that_?—and adjusted it so it settled comfortably on his arms and shoulders—_No, seriously, he threw it over his shoulder_. Fastening the top button, Amamiya pinned Kusuo with his pitch-black glare. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

There was a flash of dark light, blinding everyone for half a minute or so. When the darkness cleared, Amamiya was gone.

"What the hel—?" Kuboyasu was cut off by a riotous scream.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!"

Kusuo and his friends were shoved together by the flanking ring of a hoard of children. Every speck of incredulity they'd shown before was gone as they groped at the costumed heroes with their small, sticky hands. Shouted questions and exclamations clamored together until all their voices formed one loud, continuous buzz.

"—and he ran away—!"

"—can't believe Yuuta is actually really cool—!"

"—your autograph? Please, please, please—!"

Yuuta's dad appeared at the edge of the crowded children, clapping his hands with a laugh. "Okay, kids, okay; let the heroes breathe! You can meet with them one at a time if you line up properly. Now run along and get your autograph books."

The children groaned disappointedly but backed up as instructed. Kouta waded through the slowly receding tide of tiny humans and offered his hand to Kusuo with a wary chuckle. "That was quite the show, Kusuo-kun. You really had me worried for a second."

Kusuo took Kouta's hand, his mind racing. Should he go along with the lie or tell him the truth? Based on the intelligent gleam in Kouta's eye, he wasn't entirely convinced by the act anyway, and wouldn't it be better for him to know that some weird, apparently _not_ made-up organization seemed to be targeting his son for some reason?

Before he could change his mind, Kusuo gripped Kouta's hand tighter to hold him in place. "There was a show planned, but that wasn't it."

Kouta's green eyes narrowed, his voice lowering. "What do you mean?"

Kusuo shook his head. "I'm not sure who that guy was, but he wasn't part of the plan. Why would we have a random guy in a suit instead of one of Cider-man's actual enemies like Baron Cola or L-Ginger?"

Kouta nodded slowly. "I assumed you weren't able to get a costume for it, but then your friends joined in, and you obviously had no problems getting _those_ costumes." He dropped Kusuo's hand with a frown as he looked over to Teruhashi who was pretty-girl-smiling up a storm at Yuuta's mother; she still hadn't put Yuuta down. "Should I call the police? If someone is after my son, I want him protected at all times."

"Yes," Kusuo said without hesitation. "I'll keep an eye on him when I'm home, but I have to go to school. Having the police in the loop will make sure no one can get to him when we're not around."

Anger tightened Kouta's face, and he shot Kusuo a sharp glare. "You really don't know what that was about?"

Kusuo shook his head. "I swear, I'm as clueless as you are."

_For now_.

Kouta nodded and sighed. "I'll go call the police and put in a report." He clapped a hand on Kusuo's shoulder and smiled warily. "Thank you, Kusuo-kun. My wife and son have spoken highly of you, but I didn't realize you really were a hero."

Uncharacteristically short on words, Kusuo just nodded. After two additional pats, Kouta headed inside.

_Amamiya Hotaru. You may have caught **me** off-guard today, but next time_? Kusuo clenched his fists. _Next time, **you** won't be so lucky_.

#

The party was over, the kids had finally been dragged home by their parents, and Yuuta fell asleep on Teruhashi's shoulder—wrecked by all the sugar and excitement. Yuuta's mother, Iridatsu Hitomi, thanked the teens one last time as she reached for her sleeping son.

"You guys made his absolute day," Hitomi said, practically sparkling as Teruhashi reluctantly shifted Yuuta into her arms. "Plus his week, his month, and probably his year!"

Her hazel eyes dimmed a bit as she patted Yuuta's back. "It's been so hard on Yuuta-chan since we moved here last year. He hasn't made many friends at kindergarten and then there was that bullying incident a few months back."

"Bullying?!" Teruhashi's hackles rose, still on edge from what happened at the party. Kusuo dropped a hand on her shoulder and shook his head; he'd fill her in later.

"Yes," Hitomi continued. Her face brightened again as she smiled at the costumed group. "But thanks to today, I doubt if he'll ever have trouble again!"

Maybe not from kids, but unless this was some prank by Kaidoh—which, while preferable, was the far less likely option between the existence of a real-life maniacal organization bent on purifying the world and Kaidoh being able to pull off such an elaborate hoax—Yuuta now had far worse trouble coming his way.

Everyone said their good-byes to the Iridatsu family and retreated to the vacant lot where Teruhashi and Saiko's lackeys were tearing down the staging area. Kuboyasu, Hairo, Saiko, Kaidoh, and Nendou all stepped into the silver trailer after Mera and Yumehara were finished dressing to change back into their street clothes with Nendou complaining the whole time about how he didn't get to do anything. Kusuo put his back to the wall and folded his arms to watch the backstage drama through the blue-filter of his new glasses. Yumehara and Mera were throwing theories back and forth, trying to piece together what little they knew about what happened. Yumehara tried to pull Teruhashi into their conversation a few times, but God's Perfect Angel looked to be changing sides in the religious war.

She paced back and forth within the confines of the lot, chewing on her thumbnail as she murmured murderously with fire in her visible eye. Her long hair was uncharacteristically frazzled, fluffed at the roots from running her fingers through it so many times, with several fly-aways that seemed to twist and snap like Medusa's mane of snakes. Still, it was a testament to Teruhashi's great power that she maintained her impossible beauty. In fact, anger seemed to make her look even more astonishing than usual.

Every lingering doubt Kusuo had that Teruhashi still harbored some secret dislike for Yuuta was gone, fizzled away under the heat of her obvious rage. She had the air of a prowling lioness about her, and Kusuo doubted she could have been more protective of Yuuta if he was hers. It did something strange, and not a bit uncomfortable, to Kusuo's heart to see how affected she was by what happened. His earlier realization of how much he and Yuuta must mean to her now seemed far too simplistic. Not for the first time, Kusuo wished he could read her mind and know exactly what she was thinking.

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo looked away with a frown. If he'd known how frustrating it would be to not have telepathy, he might have hesitated a bit more before getting rid of it. And if he'd only known a few months ago how much danger Yuuta was in, he would _never_ have done it.

_Why didn't I know_? Kusuo's precognition should have warned him about this, and yet, the only premonition he'd had about life without his powers was that weird hallucination where he and Teruhashi—

Putting that aside, was it really possible for an organization like Dark Reunion to exist? Even without precognition, Kusuo's telepathy should have given him some clue that Kaidoh wasn't actually a raging chuunibyo. Except Kaidoh _was_ just a chuunibyo; everything he knew about Dark Reunion and his 'destiny' as the Jet-Black Wings was stuff he'd thought up and scribbled down in the top-secret notebooks he kept hidden beneath his bed.

_Yare, yare_.

Kaidoh and the others stepped out of the trailer, once again dressed in their street clothes. Nendou was still grumbling about not being a part of the show, but the others were unusually quiet. There was an awkward pause as Yumehara and Mera hurried over.

"Are you feeling better, Kaidoh-kun?" Yumehara got right in Kaidoh's face and pressed the inside of her wrists to both his temple. "You don't feel warm." She smiled brightly enough to make imaginary flowers bloom. "I'm so glad!"

_Smooth, Yumehara_.

Kaidoh flushed red. "Y-Yu-Yumehara…san…?"

Saiko scoffed. "Well, if that's all you have planned today, peasants, then I suppose I'll be on my way."

"Eh?" Hairo turned as Saiko snapped his fingers and a limo came to a screeching halt in front of the empty lot. "You're not going to stay?"

"To what end?" Saiko turned with an eyebrow quirked as a man in a dark suit and sunglasses climbed out of the limo to hold open the door. "You all know what's going on better than I do, and to be honest, I really don't care."

"Sure you care!" Nendou stepped forward and motioned around the lot where the last of the staging ground was being packed up. The Kokomins had all disappeared at some point, mumbling about homework or chores or cram school, leaving Saiko's men to clean up. "If you didn't care, you wouldn't have come in the first place."

Saiko frowned, looking from one person to the next. Expressions ranged from hurt to confused to spiteful (Kuboyasu). Finally, he shook his head and turned on his heel.

"We all know my place in this posse of yours." His nose in the air and his hands in his pockets, Saiko started for the limo. "Call me when you're in need of my expertise." He looked over his shoulder with a grin. "I'm not the kind of person to dirty my hands, but I have no problem paying for others to do it for me."

_You're not fooling anyone. _

"You're a bastard, Saiko," Kuboyasu called with a fond smile on his lips. "But I know you've got our backs." He gave Saiko a thumbs up. "Until next time."

_What are you even talking about_?

For a long moment, it seemed Saiko wouldn't respond. Then, just before climbing into the limo, he raised his hand in a farewell salute without looking over his shoulder. "Until next time. Peasants."

Then Saiko was inside and the limo sped off. Kusuo sighed.

_Well that was dramatic_.

But then, with his friends, what else could Kusuo really expect?

"Okay." Teruhashi abruptly stopped pacing as the last of Saiko's men cleared out. Turning on the ball of her foot, she glared at their collective friends and pointed so sharply at Kaidoh, he straightened like a board and gulped. "You! You're going to tell us everything you know about Dark Reunion, and you're going to do it _right now_!"

Silence reigned as everyone stared, unused to seeing Teruhashi so undone. After a moment, Mera raised her hand and smiled.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'm late for work."

* * *

Kaliea: *gasp* Dark Reunion exists! Whoever could have guessed? Next time, Kusuo and Kaidoh have a much-needed conversation.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!


	11. Don't Be Sorry

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

_If you're expecting an in-depth look at our war council at Café Mami, don't hold your breath. Nothing important happened anyway. We all got coffee, cakes, and coffee jelly with Mera stopping by our table more often than should be allowed while on the clock, but no new information came about. Teruhashi-san and I did, of course, fill in the rest about Amamiya and his weird ramblings about Talents, Reborn, and Dark Reunion. _

_Surprisingly, Kaidoh looked more upset than excited by the idea that his chuunibyo dreams were apparently coming true. Of course, since I can't read his mind anymore, I couldn't possibly tell you why. He went through his usual Dark Reunion monologue about how it was a secret organization out to purge mankind by stealing the ancient power known as Black Beat currently sealed inside of his right arm. Kaidoh was also apparently a part of Dark Reunion in his past life but stole Black Beat from them once he learned about their plans. Using the Phantom Technique, he fled his own body and hid inside the unborn body of Kaidoh Shun or some other such nonsense; honestly, it still doesn't make much sense._

_Anyway, once everyone was filled in, we talked about some plans, but there really isn't much to do until we can discover some actual, solid information about the real Dark Reunion. Unfortunately, that can only happen when Amamiya, or one of his companions, shows up again, and who knows when that will be? In the end, the only thing we could do was stick to the original plan: spend the summer training. Except, instead of training myself to be normal, I'll be doing everything I can to get my powers back. _

_Yare, yare; I guess this is what happens when an all-powerful psychic tries to be ordinary._

* * *

**Don't Be Sorry**

"Hey, Kusuo? Do you think I did this?"

Kusuo glanced over at Kaidoh, who sat motionless on the next swing over. His hands were tight on the chains, but his head was low as he focused on his feet.

"Did what?"

The two of them were loitering outside Konpaku Yochien waiting for it to let out. Today was the Thursday after Yuuta's party, and after a combination of notes from both his parents, Yuuta's, and the police, Kusuo had been released early from last period every day that week to pick Yuuta up from kindergarten. Today, Kaidoh had made excuses about being ill and cut class to follow Kusuo to Yuuta's school. It was a shocking act for the otherwise stalwart teen.

"Do you think I created Dark Reunion?"

Kusuo stopped swaying on his swing and shot Kaidoh an incredulous frown. "What?"

"I'm not an idiot, Kusuo, I know I'm not actually special." Kaidoh kicked the ground with his foot, causing his swing to rock slightly. "How could I not know after everything I went through in elementary school and middle school? But then I met Nobuaki-senpai after the first-year entrance ceremony, and he showed me that it didn't matter that I was nobody to the rest of the world as long as I was somebody to myself."

Kaidoh frowned and kicked the ground hard with both feet. He swung backward but skidded his shoes across the pavement to a sliding, dusty stop before his momentum kept him going. Kusuo said nothing.

"And now I'm wondering, is there a group of people out there who found out about my stupid game and thought it was real?" Frustrated tears beaded the corners of his garnet eyes. "Is that kid in real danger just because I needed to feel good about myself for once in my miserable life?"

Kusuo scoffed. "There's no way that happened."

Kaidoh's head shot up, his eyes wide and almost wild. "But—"

"I'm serious." Kusuo shook his head. "I don't know how you found out about Dark Reunion—maybe you heard it in passing on the street or read something shady on the internet—but if Dark Reunion really exists, then it's been around for a while; way longer than just a year."

Kusuo looked his friend square in the eye with a resolute frown. Kaidoh was a sensitive soul, and he needed real proof that Kusuo, at least, didn't blame him for this mess. And while every solitary cell in his body cried out for him to stay silent if he wanted to keep what little peace he had left, Kusuo shoved it aside and made his choice. "This isn't your fault, Shun. You didn't do anything wrong."

Kaidoh's—_Shun's_—lower lip started to tremble, but he held himself together admirably. "Th-thanks, Kusuo." He scrubbed the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand before striking as strong a pose as he could with his face covered in tears and snot while sitting on a kindergarten swing. "But whether it's my fault or not, I swear on this right hand of mine that I will see things through to the end! Thick or thin, good, bad, or worse, I've always got your back!"

Kusuo looked away to hide his fond smile. It was nice to know that not everything about Shun's fantasy world would fade away with his new-found maturity. Not immediately, anyway. Maybe someday the Jet-Black Wings would retire completely, but Kusuo wasn't in a hurry. Shun was fine just as he was.

"Cyborg Cider-man #2! You're back again!"

Kusuo stood up just in time to catch Yuuta as he hurled at his stomach like a human bullet. Yuuta laughed and snuggled Kusuo's chest, knocking his uniform's yellow bucket-hat askew. It had been strange, at first, to see Yuuta in the required blue smock and yellow hat that the rest of his classmates wore, but he'd quickly gotten used to it. What he hadn't gotten used to were the kindergarten teachers.

"Yuuta-chan!" Nakamura Himawari stopped her brief, incredibly feminine run only a few steps away from Kusuo. Her pale blue eyes were shiny with tears and her matching blue hair was pulled over one shoulder in a loose ponytail. "Oh, Yuuta-chan, you know better than to run off on your own!"

_You say that like you didn't point at me and shove him out the door._

"It's such a good thing you're always so diligent, Saiki-kun. It would be awful if something happened to Yuuta-chan because he got too excited and ran out before you arrived."

Kusuo resisted the urge to glare at the woman, but it was very, _very_ hard. "I'm sure you wouldn't let that happen, Nakamura-san."

Nakamura blushed and fidgeted with her oversized apron. "Oh no! Of course not!" She looked up at him, widening her eyes with a small pout. "I would never let anything happen to Yuuta-chan."

_Does she think she's being cute_?

Shifting his grip so Yuuta was settled comfortably in his arms, Kusuo offered Nakamura a polite nod before looking at Shun and inclining his head. "We should go."

"Oh! Cyborg Qoo! I didn't know you were here too!" Yuuta grinned at Shun and waved almost wildly. "Hi, Cyborg Qoo! Where's your hat?"

Shun blushed and looked away with a cough. "I…ah…I don't wear it when I'm dressed as a civilian. I wouldn't want to give away my secret identity, after all."

Yuuta nodded as sagely as a six-year-old could. "That's a good idea, Cyborg Qoo. Who knows where Baron Cola might show up next?"

"Um! Saiki-kun!" Nakamura caught the back of Kusuo's white uniform shirt, making him stop mid-step. He turned and raised an incredulous eyebrow. Nakamura blushed and let him go, tucking both hands behind her back with a nervous smile. "It's just…um…I was wondering if you're busy this weekend? There's a new Mugami Toru movie and—"

"Thank you." Kusuo bowed. "But I'll be watching Yuuta over the weekend."

"O-oh…" Nakamura wilted, her sapphire bangs falling over her eyes. "I see…"

Yuuta was ecstatic. "You're really watching me, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

Kusuo nodded.

"Whaa! That's so great! We should let Peach-T Girl come too!"

"What about me?"

"Peach-T Girl!" Yuuta launched at Teruhashi, nearly falling on his head when Kusuo tried to hold onto him so he wouldn't bowl Teruhashi over and injure them both. Fortunately, Kusuo was able to get close enough to grab Teruhashi around the waist to steady her as she got a firm grip on Yuuta.

"Yuuta." Kusuo frowned. "I've told you not to jump at her like that. What if you hurt her?"

Yuuta slumped in Teruhashi's arms, sniffling. "I'm sorry, Cyborg Cider-man #2."

Kusuo inclined his head at Teruhashi. "And?"

Yuuta rubbed his cheek, blushing lightly as he looked up at Teruhashi. "I'm sorry, Peach-T Girl."

"Hey, Kusuo!" Shun hurried over, flustered. "Offu, Teruhashi. Are you okay?"

"Yes, Kaidoh-kun, thank you. Yuu-chan just got a bit excited is all."

"Ah, S-Saiki-kun?"

The three teens looked back to see Nakamura standing awkwardly a few feet away; her face looked a bit green as her blue eyes darted from Kusuo to Teruhashi and back.

"You know her?"

"Oh! How rude of me." Teruhashi didn't bother to step away from Kusuo, but she did turn enough to offer Nakamura a polite bow without ever letting Yuuta go. "My name is Teruhashi Kokomi. You must be one of Yuu-chan's teachers, right?" She brought out her killer smile, which struck Nakamura like a deadly arrow. "Thank you for always taking such good care of him."

Nakamura looked nearly dead with defeat as Teruhashi turned her smile on Kusuo. As usual, it did nothing for him. He may not be able to read her thoughts anymore, but there was no denying the triumphant gleam in her indigo eyes.

_Yare, yare._

"We should hurry home, Saiki-kun. Your mother has a neighborhood meeting this evening and your father will be back late from work. I promised to get dinner started so they won't have to worry about anything when they get home." Reaching out, Teruhashi pinched the front of Kusuo's shirt with two fingers and tugged just enough to get him moving. Letting him go, Teruhashi turned her smile on Shun. "You're welcome to come too, Kaidoh-kun. I'm making curry."

"Thanks, Teruhashi-san, but I have to hurry to cram school. We have a mock-exam tomorrow before we're let out for summer, and if I don't do well, mama won't let me train with you all this summer."

"That's a shame, but maybe next time?"

"Definitely!" Shun waved as he hurried off toward the train station. "See you tomorrow Kusuo, Teruhashi-san!"

"Bye-bye, Cyborg Qoo!"

Once Shun rounded the corner, Teruhashi turned her attention to Yuuta, who was chattering on about his day. Kusuo fell into step behind the pair, keeping his eyes and ears open as they traversed the crowded streets. He supposed it should bother him how casually Teruhashi had invited Shun over to his house for dinner, but it was hardly the first time. In fact, Teruhashi had become such a fixture over the last few months—what with her using their project as an excuse to invade his home—that she had started to walk home with him, Shun, Kuboyasu, and Nendou. Naturally, Yumehara took this as an opportunity to tag along and spend more time with Shun—which had actually been working out pretty well for her, especially since she still attended his cram school. The two of them usually broke away from the pack at the train station nearest Kusuo's house before heading off to cram school together.

On at least six separate occasions, Kuboyasu and Nendou—sometimes together and other times individually—had accepted Teruhashi's invitation to join them for studying and dinner, much to Kaa-san's delight. It had caused Kusuo excessive amounts of annoyance the first few times before he realized she wasn't going to stop, no matter how much he protested, so he stopped trying to stop her. Why waste the effort?

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Kusuo followed a few steps behind as Teruhashi led the way home. "Hey."

"Hm?" Teruhashi glanced over her shoulder, which made Yuuta pause his endless chatter to catch his breath.

"Why are you coming to my house anyway? We finished our project last week, so there's no reason for it."

Teruhashi blushed a brilliant red before swinging back around. "N-no reason. I just…I got a call from your mom that she would be late, like I said. And since I wanted to see Yuu-chan before…"

Her blush faded and her purposeful stride slowed to a near stop. Yuuta looked up at her in concern. "Peach-T Girl?"

She shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing, Yuu-chan. Anyway!" Her pace picked up again as she shot Kusuo a quick glance over her shoulder. "I wanted to see Yuu-chan before he and his parents leave on Monday."

Uncertainty knotted Kusuo's stomach at the mention of the Iridatsu family's trip. Apparently, his parents had been planning a three-week summer vacation for over a year now to coincide with their tenth wedding anniversary. Since they were taking a cruise, their original plan was to leave Yuuta with his maternal grandparents, but they were worried that wouldn't be enough now that someone was apparently looking for Yuuta. Kusuo, to everyone's shock, had offered to take care of him, but it was too late—the Iridatsu-sans had already bought a third ticket for Yuuta to join them on their cruise.

"We'll be on a boat in the middle of the ocean, Saiki-kun," Kouta said with a pacifying smile. "Plus, I've alerted the cruise line that there is a risk with Yuuta, and they're making special accommodations for him. He'll be just fine."

Kusuo wanted to believe that, but it wasn't in his nature to be optimistic. Still, Kouta had promised to keep Kusuo posted via email with the ship's on-board Wi-Fi, even though he really didn't have to as Kusuo was just a neighbor, and that would have to be enough. Hopefully, Kusuo's weeks of training would keep him busy enough not to think about it.

_Yare, yare. When did I get so soft?_

Teruhashi laughed at something Yuuta said and tapped his nose with her finger. Against his will, Kusuo felt his perpetual 'meh' expression soften to an almost smile. If he had to guess, Kusuo would say he started getting soft around the same time Teruhashi did; whenever that was.

"Of course!" Teruhashi spun around, grinning at Kusuo with a devilish gleam in her eyes. "If that's okay with you, Saiki-kun."

_Crap, I wasn't paying attention_. This meant one of two things: either Kusuo would be forced to agree and save face or he would have to endure Teruhashi's relentless ridicule for his failure to adhere to social convention.

Or he could take back the trick Teruhashi stole.

"Hn." Kusuo looked at Yuuta's expectant face. "What do you think, Yuuta? Is it a good idea?"

"Oh yes! Yes, yes, yes! Universal Studios Japan is the bestest place in the whole wide world! And they're having a show there with Cyborg Yakult! Peach-T Girl said she would even get me an autograph since he couldn't come to my party!"

Kusuo turned a flat expression on Teruhashi, who had the gall to look perfectly innocent. "Did she, now?"

"It's all expenses paid," Teruhashi said so sweetly, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Train fair included with two full days in a luxury suite as well as tickets and meals and _desserts_ all taken care of."

"Uh-huh! And since we get to stay overnight, Peach-T Girl said we can go around the park _again_ before we leave on Sunday!" Yuuta suddenly realized that Kusuo didn't look at all excited by either prospect. He shrunk into Teruhashi's arms with a subdued pout. "Or never mind, I guess. Mommy and Daddy probably wouldn't want us to go so far."

Kusuo's gaze sharpened to a glare. _Damn you, Teruhashi_. Why was it that Kusuo hated to see this kid so depressed?

"It's fine, Yuuta. I don't mind taking you." It would take over his whole weekend, but what did that matter? Besides, he'd never been to Universal Studios Japan, and without his telepathy, he wouldn't have to worry about the shows or rides being spoiled before experiencing them for himself.

Yuuta perked up. "Really?!"

Pulling his eyes from Teruhashi, Kusuo pinned Yuuta with a firm frown. "But we'll have to talk to your parents first, and if they say no, that's it."

"Okay!"

Because God hated him, of course Yuuta's parents said 'yes'. And Kusuo's own parents had been so thrilled, they tried to shove him and Teruhashi out the front door before Kusuo reminded them that the trip would start on Friday evening and it was currently still Thursday.

Around nine o'clock—his parents weren't kidding when they said they would be home late—Kusuo was roped into washing the dishes because Tou-san wouldn't stop whining about how he had spent all day licking shoes and it was the least Kusuo could do when God's beloved ones, Kurumi and Kokomi, spent so much time taking care of the house like guardian angels.

_Yare, yare_. If he still had his powers, Kusuo would have teleported to a deserted island or to his abandoned training grounds and left Tou-san with the chore. Well, actually, he probably would have used telekinesis to wash the dishes since, if Kusuo disappeared, Tou-san would undoubtedly find a way to charm Kaa-san or Teruhashi into it.

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo ran warm water over the plate he'd just scrubbed. Honestly, this wasn't the worst chore. Teruhashi didn't make much mess when cooking the curry and it wasn't any harder to wash five plates than three. It was also kind of nice to hear the television playing the adventures of Cyborg Cider-man #2 on low volume since Tou-san had fallen asleep in the armchair after dinner. Kaa-san was sitting quietly with Yuuta, who was watching with his usual—if more subdued—enthusiasm since he was spending the night. That wasn't usual, this was actually the first time, but his father was on a business trip until Sunday and his mother was taking care of her sick mother—hence the reason Kusuo was taking care of him over the weekend.

Finished rinsing the plate, Kusuo held it out and Teruhashi took it to dry. She was humming contentedly, her hair pulled up by a pale pink ribbon in a loose, side-pony, and she still had on Kaa-san's spare apron. She looked like a young wife. Scowling, Kusuo snatched up another plate to wash.

"If you keep making faces like that, it will freeze." Teruhashi grinned as she stacked the plate and reached for one of the five glasses sitting in the drying rack. "Goodness knows that after seventeen years of using zero expressions, your face muscles aren't used to the exercise."

"What are you doing, Teruhashi-san?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head with false confusion as she worked her drying rag slowly across the wet cup. She could finish drying what few dishes there were in seconds and be done with it, but she was dragging things out on purpose. "What do you mean, Saiki-kun?"

"Why are you drying the dishes?" He finished the plate at the same moment Teruhashi finished her glass. She plucked it from his hand to dry. "The whole point of me doing it was so you and Kaa-san didn't have to."

"Oh, that!" She giggled. "I don't mind. It's kind of relaxing, don't you think?"

He didn't believe her for a second, but he grunted without comment and grabbed another plate. "And the other thing?"

"Other thing?"

He glared down at her, and she shrugged. "If you're asking about Universal Studios, I thought Yuuta might enjoy it."

"And what about you? You really want to take 'a boring family trip' to Osaka?"

Teruhashi had the grace to blush as she bent over a bit and scrubbed the plate in her hands even though it was already dry. She set it slowly atop the other plate and picked up another cup.

"It's going to take a while to get used to the idea that you knew all of my thoughts the last two years."

Six years, since she was obviously counting their freshman year (which was only done once; thank you, God), but thanks to his brainwashing, she would never know that.

She finished drying the glass and accepted the wet plate he handed over. Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes as Kusuo worked his way through two more plates that Teruhashi dried with a distant look on her face.

"Have I told you much about my family, Saiki-kun?"

"No."

"Hm." Teruhashi motioned for him to set the chopsticks in the drying rack so she could finish the cups. "But you do know some things?"

"I know about your brother." _The sick pervert_. "And that your parents both travel a lot for work. Telepathy doesn't really work the way non-telepaths think it does. People don't think in full sentences unless they're focusing on something specific." He set aside the last pair of chopsticks and started on the rice bowls. "Most of the time it's mental images with a few half-finished phrases or a sudden, shouted word. Stuff like that tends to blend together until it's one big haze; sort of like the sound a white-noise machine makes."

Teruhashi frowned and took Kaa-san's washed rice bowl to dry. "That must get very annoying."

"Less annoying than hearing actual thoughts. I can't tell you how many times I heard people think about poop on a daily basis. _Explicitly_."

Teruhashi giggled. "Yeah, I can imagine how awful that could be."

"No; you really can't."

Surprisingly, Teruhashi didn't push back. Instead, she hummed lightly in agreement as she finished up the bowl and set it aside. "Well, you're right about them always traveling for business, but honestly, it's way more than just that. In fact, I haven't seen my parents in…" She counted on her fingers. "Almost three years?"

Kusuo nearly dropped his rice bowl. "What?"

"Well, I mean, of course I've _seen_ them; everyone has! And I talk to them pretty regularly—twice a month or so—but they haven't actually come home in years."

"…Why?"

"You know my brother is Mugami Toru?"

Kusuo would have been insulted by the question if he didn't know it was rhetorical. He nodded anyway.

"Well, my parents are Eien Megumi and Kanpeki Koiichi."

_Eternal Goddess and One Perfect Love_? Kusuo shuddered. _What awful names_!

"Wait." Kusuo did drop Tou-san's rice bowl. The garish orange ceramic shattered on the kitchen floor. "The actors?"

Teruhashi nodded. "That's them. Also, I know you did that on purpose." She crossed the kitchen to grab the broom. "You better not do the same to mine."

"I have no idea what you mean." Kusuo grabbed Teruhashi's bowl next. Kaa-san bought the white ceramic bowl with a pink interior and an exterior cherry blossom pattern after the second time Teruhashi stayed for dinner.

Many of Kusuo's favorite dramas starred either one or the other of Teruhashi's parents, and looking back, he really should have made the connection earlier. Eien Megumi was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by every major magazine with her naturally black hair—a real rarity these days—and deep, indigo eyes while Kanpeki Koiichi had been voted the sexiest actor in Japan for the last twenty-two years, and he was only thirty-nine. Both played mostly in historical dramas and romantic stories with lots of action and were often paired together because of their fantastic yet mysterious chemistry.

_Guess **that** mystery is solved_.

"Okay, then." Kusuo finished washing Teruhashi's bowl and set it aside. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Teruhashi frowned, incredulous. "Really? I just told you my parents are the two most perfect people in the world, and you want to know how that's affected my life?"

"Ah." Kusuo picked up Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-man #2 bowl. _That actually makes a lot of sense_.

Teruhashi finished sweeping and leaned on the broom handle with an overdramatic sigh. "Yes, it's so very difficult belonging to such a perfect family. I am the Andromeda to my mother's Cassiopeia—more beautiful, more intelligent, more—"

"Humble?"

The broom handle was suddenly at Kusuo's throat like the point of a sword. "Don't judge. Do you know how hard it is to pretend like I don't know how pretty I am all the time? To smile at everyone? To laugh at the right time without going overboard? Yes, I may have let it get to my head since I started high school—"

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow.

"—since I started middle school, but I am, overall, a nice person with good intentions. If people want to admire me like I'm an exotic bird, then who am I to stop them?"

"A person?" Kusuo set Yuuta's washed bowl inside Teruhashi's. "I went to the zoo with Yuuta a few…during second year, and surprisingly enough, not one cage had a human inside."

Teruhashi lowered the broom and scoffed. She pushed her bangs aside as she searched for the dustpan to pick up the pile of broken ceramic. "Again, you forget who my parents are. I was raised to be seen, to be admired. I'm supposed to be an actress; you know? Just like my parents and brother. I've been taking extra classes every day since before I started elementary school to prepare for it: drama classes, kendo classes, archery classes, koto classes, flower arrangement classes, tea ceremony classes."

_Yare, yare. Were they preparing you to be an actress or a Daimyo's wife_?

"I finally put my foot down during my third year of middle school and told them I wasn't interested in acting. They were shocked. After all that effort, was I really going to let it go to waste?" Dustpan now in hand, Teruhashi crouched down to sweep up the broken bowl. "I told Onii-chan something about being a wildflower and being prettier than shop flowers or something. I don't know. It was stupid."

Kusuo actually remembered that. Makoto had been thinking about those exact words when he ordered Kusuo to tell Teruhashi to stay away from home during their second round of year 2 so she wouldn't accidentally get caught up in filming. Teruhashi ended up using Kusuo's carrier pigeon impression as an excuse to ask him on a date that he'd then done his best to ruin. Somehow, despite his best efforts, Teruhashi came out the other side liking him even more than before.

Teruhashi dumped the dustpan and put it away with the broom. "My parents practically disowned me after that, so I thought that if I threw myself into being the perfect pretty girl, it would smooth things over. Dad came around pretty quickly, but Mom is being stubborn. She always tells me about her modeling or the places she travels to for her different jobs."

She sighed, looking distant, before her eyes caught his, and she blushed again, waving her hands in denial. "Don't get me wrong! I know my parents love me I just…I just wish being me was enough, you know?"

Not really. Kusuo couldn't imagine anything like what Teruhashi was explaining to him right then. Like her, he never doubted that his parents loved him—even Tou-san at his idiotic worst—but he'd never felt compelled to do anything to earn that love either. How different would he have been—would the _world_ have been—if Kusuo ended up with overreaching parents like Teruhashi's instead of his own?

"That's why I tried so hard to get you to notice me." Teruhashi pinned him with an amused glare and jabbed at him with one finger. "Because you, Saiki Kunio, never once acknowledged that I was the perfect pretty girl my parents trained me to be. And if there is even one person in the world who doesn't recognize how amazing I am, then I must not be all that amazing after all."

Kusuo honestly had no idea what to say to that. "…Sorry."

"Oh no!" Teruhashi waved him off with a laugh. "Don't be. It's because you ignored me so handily that I was able to get so close to Chiyo and Mera and even the other boys. For the first time in my life, I have real friends who actually like _me_, not just _looking_ at me. I have people like Chiyo who care enough to know that I prefer udon over soba and that I find radishes disgusting.

"It's because of you that I have Oba-san and Oji-san and Yuu-chan, who don't care one bit about my beauty and instead like me because of who I am as a person. It's because of you that I can go on a boring family trip to the amusement park where I get kidnapped by a crazy man in a ginger costume and have it be one of the greatest, most wonderful, most memorable experiences of my life.

"Because of you, Saiki-kun, I found myself, found that I can _be_ myself, if only in these four walls." Teruhashi smiled that soft, sweet smile at him that he'd been seeing for months—years?—and somehow hadn't recognized for what it actually was: a real, honest, happy smile. "So please, Saiki-kun, don't be sorry for ignoring me. I'm not."

Silence followed except for the low buzz of the television from the living room. Kusuo didn't know what to say; he didn't know what to _think_. Teruhashi had just dropped so many bombs on him, Kusuo was amazed the world was still right-side up. It was a very good thing his powers were gone, if only for that one moment, because he didn't doubt he'd have blown up Tokyo, or at least the house, out of sheer shock.

_I'm the most important person in Teruhashi-san's life_. That thought should have made Kusuo feel incredibly presumptuous and arrogant, but it didn't. He wasn't trying to be a jerk or stroke his own ego, he was just stating a simple, undeniable fact. Just as Teruhashi was the most beautiful girl in the world, Saiki Kusuo was the most important person in her life; it was as simple (and complicated) as that.

Teruhashi, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit affected as she turned back to the sink and picked up Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-man #2 bowl with careful, almost reverent, hands to dry. She was humming again, but it was a different song from that one with the awful lyrics she sang at every end of year 2 class karaoke party. It was softer, sweeter. Sadder.

_What are you thinking_?

And suddenly, so suddenly Kusuo would swear he teleported, he was behind her, and his arms were around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Teruhashi gasped. "S-Saiki-kun?"

_What am **I **thinking_?

"Teruhashi-san."

"Y-yes?"

_Say something, idiot. Preferably something **not** stupid_.

"You're welcome."

_Sigh. Idiot_.

Teruhashi giggled and patted his hands with hers. "I didn't actually say thank-you, Saiki-kun, but I understand."

_Really? Because I don't_.

"Come on." She patted his hands again, then held up her cherry blossom patterned bowl. "We still have work to do. Those dishes won't clean themselves!"

"Aa." Letting her go, Kusuo went back to the sink and turned on the water. There was no way she was as chill about that as she acted—her mind must have been going crazy. Or was he pulling a Teruhashi by thinking there was more to her non-reactions than there actually was?

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo rinsed the last rice bowl—his own—and handed it to Teruhashi to dry. _This wouldn't be happening if I had telepathy_.

* * *

Kaliea: So Kokomi's background came out surprisingly sympathetic; just in case you're wondering, that wasn't planned. I did, however, want to give Kusuo a better glimpse into her mind, something he never would have allowed himself before he lost his powers. He treated them like they were the absolute bane of his existence (which they probably were) but he barely ever tried to dive below the surface. If he did, he wouldn't have been so freaked out by what happened when he participated in that drug trial with Nendou and Mera. I guess I really just wanted to give Kusuo a 'human' moment where he had to slow down and realize you can't judge a book by its cover, no matter how shallow that pretty cover may seem.


	12. Fallen Angel

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

_Shut up. Yes, I mean you. You think that just because my powers are gone, I don't know what you're thinking?_

_"That last chapter was so cute!"_

_"Saiki-kun has finally realized he likes Teruhashi-san!"_

_"Romance is blossoming!"_

_Well sorry to burst your bubble, but you're wrong. Teruhashi-san is my friend, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't comfort her when she's upset?_

_Yare, yare. This is why I never wanted friends or acquaintances or any other kind of relationship in the first place; people are always such a pain._

* * *

**Fallen Angel**

"Kusuooo~3!"

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo stopped on his way to the second-floor landing and looked over the railing. Aiura ran down the hallway, waving frantically with her free hand while clutching her school bag with the other. She smiled radiantly, but there was an underlying tension in her face that Kusuo couldn't read. Once again, his lack of telepathy pricked him, but he pushed that aside. He'd made the decision to seal his powers with his eyes wide open; he would bear with the consequences of them being gone.

_Except it's not just me who has to bear with it_. Kusuo clenched his fists at the sudden memory of Yuuta's grinning face, but he shoved that away too. Now wasn't the time.

"I'm glad I caught you!" Aiura stopped at the base of the stairs to dig through her bag. "I did some digging like you asked, but I wasn't able to locate anything about Dark Reunion. Isn't that a made-up organization by that Chuunibyo boy in your class Chiyo-pipi is crazy about? Anyway." She pulled out a bedazzled notebook that looked heavy enough to be classified as a blunt-force weapon. "I took some notes about some other stuff I saw, but it was all pretty hazy. I'd say your aura is messing with me again, but we were both at _home_ yesterday."

Kusuo's attention sharpened at the way she said 'home,' and he eyed her uncertainly as she almost pounded up the stairs. She ripped a page of notes and doodles—lots of flowers and hearts, a few umbrellas with their initials, a half-finished wedding dress—and Kusuo took it with a nod.

"Thank you, Aiura-san. Your help is appreciated."

"Just my help?" A pained wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows as Aiura reached out to grasp Kusuo's sleeve. "You've been distant these past few months."

Kusuo resisted the urge to sigh. "I've been busy. Teruhashi-san and I had a project to work on."

"A project you didn't need to start until this week, according to Chiyo-pipi. She's been trying to get that Kaidoh boy to come to her house for weeks, but he kept putting it off because there was plenty of time."

"Teruhashi-san is more thorough than Shun."

Aiura flinched back, blinking in surprise. "Since when do you call anyone by their given names?"

"Does it matter?"

"I…I guess not…" She dropped her hand from his sleeve and rubbed her arm. "Um, I was thinking, though, since your project is done now, you should have more time, right? Summer vacation starts tomorrow, and I thought we could get together sometime? With your telepathy gone, there are a lot of places you can go and things to do that wouldn't have been much fun before: the movies, an arcade. I know a few clubs that aren't too strict about carding since we'll be eighteen soon anyway."

"Ah, sorry; I have plans."

Aiura wilted. "All summer?"

"Aa."

"Does it have to do with this Dark Reunion stuff?"

"Aa." Kusuo frowned. "I have Toritsuka looking into it too, but so far, he says the same thing. None of the ghosts he's talked to have heard anything about Dark Reunion outside of what everyone already knows."

This was probably the most frustrating mystery of Kusuo's life. On the one hand, it was pretty obvious that the whole Dark Reunion thing was a hoax; maybe someone from Shun's cram school was trying to pull one over on him. A rival for a scholarship, perhaps? Except that didn't make any sense because the guy knew about Kusuo, and maybe he could excuse that because he was Shun's friend and the guy did good research, but then what was that about Teruhashi? And why involve Yuuta? Shun hadn't even met the boy until the party, so there would be no reason for a rival to look that far into Kusuo's life unless Kusuo was somehow involved in this whole mess.

But if that was the case, why hadn't he learned a single damn thing about Dark Reunion? Who were they? Where did they operate from? What did their organization look like? Were they a haphazard street gang or something more organized? Judging by the way Amamiya dressed, Kusuo would say that money was involved somehow—probably a lot of it.

Is that how they managed to keep things so secret? Money? Bribes could go a long way toward erasing memories, but to remove any traces available on a spiritual level? That should be impossible.

"Kusuo?"

"Hm?" Pulled out of his thoughts, Kusuo looked down at Aura's concerned face. She rose another step so they were almost eye-level.

"You look like you're falling apart."

The main part of him wanted dismiss her concerns with a scoff and hurry to class before someone else managed to ambush him in the halls, but the smaller, more rational side of Kusuo's brain reminded him that Aiura was his friend, she was trying to help, and he actually _needed_ her help now that he couldn't look into things like this on his own. He sighed.

"Yare, yare."

Aiura chuckled at that. "Good to know you're still somewhat yourself."

"Everything that happened at the party has me on edge. Yuuta is just a kid; he shouldn't be dragged into my problems."

"Mm, I see, I see." Aiura folded her arms and nodded before looking up at Kusuo with one eye closed. "But the way you explained things, it sounds like _you're_ the one getting dragged into someone else's problems. Didn't you say they thought you were dead?"

"Hoped," Kusuo corrected. He looked away and passed a hand over his tired eyes. Last night, with Yuuta asleep on the spare futon on his floor, Kusuo had slept better than he had in a week, but that wasn't saying much. Every creek or groan of the wind made his eyes snap open, his hand instantly falling over the edge of the bed to brush Yuuta's green spikes. This must have happened four times at least—though Kusuo half-remembered a few more that he was either too tired to fully wake up for or he'd been dreaming—and every time, it took him almost an hour to fall back asleep.

Finally, around four o'clock in the morning, after Kusuo had nearly flown out of bed when his fingers didn't brush Yuuta's downy head because Yuuta had woken up needing the bathroom, Kusuo had made the boy climb in bed with him. It was a bit weird sharing a bed with someone; he remembered his parents trying to snuggle him once or twice when he was a baby, but he didn't take it well. Kaa-san was fine, but who would want to snuggle with Tou-san?

"Kusuo?"

"I'm fine." He looked Aiura in the eyes to punctuate his point. "Come to the roof at lunch. We'll talk more then."

Aiura brightened, her eyes sparkling as she all but dripped flowers in her happiness. She saluted him. "Yes, Kusuo-sama!"

Then she was skipping up the stairs singing _la-la-la_ as she went. Kusuo stared after her, stunned. What was that all about?

Shaking his head, Kusuo put Aiura's craziness out of his mind and continued upstairs to class.

#

"Ohayo, Saiki-kun!" Teruhashi was sparkly as ever as she gave him her patented pretty-girl smile, enhanced today by her clasped hands resting beneath her chin. As expected, a chorus of '_offu'_ sounded as the boys in class caught sight of her. "How did things go after I left?"

She leaned forward. "Did Yuu-chan get to bed okay?"

She leaned forward. "You were a bit late coming to class."

She leaned forward. "Did you have trouble getting him to kindergarten this morning?"

"Teruhashi-san."

More sparkles. "Yes, Saiki-kun?"

"You're in my space." Forget his space, she was so much in his face he would fall out of his chair if he leaned back any further. _What's with her today_? There was something frighteningly desperate about her usual pretty-girl routine, which didn't make sense. They had that whole talk yesterday about how it was all an act foisted on her by her parents, so why was she suddenly throwing herself into it like the world was ending?

"Oh! Sorry, Saiki-kun." Her smile widened. "It won't happen again."

"Teruhashi-san."

"Yes, Saiki-kun?"

"You're still in my space."

"Oops!" She sat back down in her chair, smoothing out her skirt with that never-ending smile that was seriously creeping him out. "Sorry, Saiki-kun."

Dark murmurs and complaints circled around the class as the guys talked bad about Kusuo using the most benign set-downs ever. Honestly, even the bullies at P.K. Academy were pretty nice. The one real exception to that had been Kongo, and he was now attending Tokyo-U with a full-ride scholarship in advanced neurobiology.

"It's a good thing we change seats at the beginning of the second term," Takahashi said from his lonely back-corner where his friends gathered every morning before class to talk shop. "That way, poor Teruhashi-san won't be stuck with that loser for the whole year."

"No kidding, Takahashi," said friend #1 with the slicked back hair. Kusuo never could remember his name. Or the other one's either. Why bother when they were basically just Takahashi yes-men?

"Hey, Saiki-san!" Toritsuka jogged over to Kusuo's desk with a grin. "Did you hear? We're getting a new transfer student!"

"Eh?" Teruhashi put a finger to her cheek and tilted her head at a well-practiced angle, which naturally produced another chorus of '_offu_'. _She's really hammering her cute side today_. "A transfer student at this time of year? How strange!"

It _was_ strange. Usually, students waited until after summer break so they could start the new term with everyone else. That's what happened with Aiura, Toritsuka, Kuboyasu, and Akechi.

_Why does this school have so many transfer students, anyway?_

"Offu, Teruhashi-san." Toritsuka nodded. _Wait, is 'offu' your way of agreeing with her_? "And even more strange, there's supposed to be another transfer student in year 2! Apparently, the girls are cousins or something, and they're both supposed to be super hot!"

"Really?" Teruhashi's pretty-girl smile ramped up to an all-out angel smile. "That's wonderful! It will be so nice to have more girls in class. I hope we can be great friends!"

_She knows something_. Did she know the new girls personally? Maybe they had a bad history, sort of like Kusuo and Akechi. Maybe she was bullied? He supposed it was inevitable that Teruhashi would run into people who didn't like her, especially girls. Teruhashi didn't have the usual pretty-girl problems because she was genuinely nice, even if she amped it up to an uncomfortable degree, so she tended to avoid making enemies of the other girls.

It also helped that most girls would much rather be friends with her than enemies as Teruhashi's enemies wouldn't survive long in a school that worshiped her from year 1 all the way to the faculty. Just look what happened to Rifuta—now in year 2, she still had no idea if she was coming or going when it came to a romance with Teruhashi. Well, it probably was more 'going' now since she was still disturbingly into Teruhashi's perverted brother.

Excited conversation buzzed about the room as both guys and girls discussed the new apparently gorgeous transfer student. Many of them tried to scale the new-girl on how well they thought she would rank-up against Teruhashi, and so far it sounded like they were settling on someone better than Rifuta—wonderful as she apparently was—and Teruhashi, because obviously no one could be more beautiful than God's chosen angel.

The classroom door slid open and Shima Kyouka-sensei stepped inside. Formerly the homeroom teacher for class 2-3, Shima transferred to class 3-1 during their final round of year 2. It was a bit strange having her as a teacher again—the first time she walked into the classroom, Kusuo had a minor panic attack because he thought he'd reset time again by accident—but overall, it was no big deal.

Hairo, once again the class-rep, led everyone through the customary stand, bow, sit greeting, after which Shima got right to the point. "Good morning, class. As I'm sure you've all heard by now, we have a new transfer student. Now, please be mindful of her as she has a certain condition that makes it difficult for her to interact normally."

Questioning murmurs broke out before Shima managed to regain control. "Before you contemplate whether she's dying or not, I'll let you know that she is legally blind."

More astonished murmurs. Shima waited for it to die down before continuing. "Please be kind to her." Then, turning to the door, Shima said, "You can come in now."

The door slid open and the new girl stepped inside. As expected, she wore the same summer uniform as everyone else, but it seemed to fit more elegantly on her slim figure than should be possible, and the bright green complemented her pale, pale skin. Her long, orange-red hair looked like fire-spun gold and fell to her waste in gentle waves, framing her delicate, symmetrical face.

Her eyes were a bright, ruby red that seemed to take in a lot of information for someone who was supposed to be blind. They moved eerily from person to person before coming to a stop on Kusuo and widening; her plump, pink lips opened slightly in shock before she smiled. Even Kusuo, who didn't put much stock in physical beauty, had to admit she didn't hold a candle to Teruhashi's torch.

This girl was a bonfire.

"Ng!"

"Ng!"

"Ng! Ng! Ng!"

_So that's the sound people make when they swallow their tongues_.

"Please introduce yourself."

"Yes, sensei." The girl bowed to the class like a perfect, high-born lady with her hands atop one another and her angle an exact 45-degrees with her spine properly aligned from tailbone to nape.

"Ng!"

"My name is Kuwabara Natsuko. It is written using the kanji for 'mulberry field' and 'summer child.' Please forgive me for not writing it on the board."

"NG!"

"Well, then," Shima said as she looked around. All the boys (minus Kusuo), and most of the girls, sat up straighter as Shima looked over them until she paused on the empty desk beside Takahashi. The green-haired boy looked like he might faint. "Ah. Why don't you take a seat next to Takahashi-kun, Kuwabara-san? Takahashi-kun, please escort—"

"A-actually." Kuwabara's soft, sweet voice cut through Shima's order with a surprising level of delicacy. "I would like to sit next to him, if that's all right."

Everyone turned to follow Kuwabara's finger, and Kusuo wished he had the power to teleport. Why was it always him?

"Y-you can't!" Teruhashi stood up, almost slamming her palms on the desktop. "This is my seat! We're not supposed to change seats until next term!"

Shima frowned, her brown eyes radiating disappointment. "Teruhashi-san—"

Again, Kuwabara cut her off with such supreme delicacy no one seemed to notice how rude she was being. "I apologize for the confusion. I meant the desk behind yours."

Everyone turned, even Kusuo, to stare at Nendou in shock.

"Eh?" Nendou said, looking around while picking his nose with his pinky. "What's going on?"

"You…you want to sit beside Nendou-kun?" Shima gaped like a landed fish. "Really?"

"Nendou-kun." Kuwabara blushed softly, actually _blushed_. "Is that his name? He has a very beautiful aura."

"_Nendou_?"

Everyone in class was too shocked to protest as Kuwabara strode gracefully down the aisle between desks and came to a stop at the empty one beside Nendou's. The pseudo-punk stared up at her in stunned disbelief for a long moment, his pinky still shoved up his nose.

"Hello, Nendou-kun." Kuwabara's blush deepened. "Would you mind if I sit here?"

"Ng! Uh!" Nendou jumped out of his chair, wiping his pinky on his shirt, and scrambled to pull out her chair. "Not at all, dear lady. Please, allow me the honor of getting your chair."

Kuwabara giggled. "Thank-you very much; you're such a gentleman!"

_Did I die_? Kusuo wondered, his entire body frozen in horrified disbelief. _Is this Hell_?

Not even those five minutes when Kusuo and the others thought Nendou had received a legitimate love letter could top the way he felt in this moment watching Nendou offer his hand—the hand he'd just been using to _pick his nose_—to settle the most beautiful woman Kusuo had ever seen (though admittedly, it had only been three months since he'd accurately been able to see anyone) into the chair next to his because she'd _asked to sit there_.

_Offu_.

"Well then," Shima said, her voice still a bit shaky with disbelief. "It's time to begin class."

Reluctantly, Kusuo turned forward and tried to shake the feeling that some terrible horror was taking place behind him. The hairs on the nape of his neck stood on end as if he was about to be struck by lightning, and honestly, compared to Nendou's "handsome face," Kusuo probably preferred that.

_If I ever needed proof that she's blind, that's **definitely** it._

Class proceeded as normally as it could with Nendou sitting up attentively behind Kusuo with that creepy, sparkly face. Although it was kind of nice that Kusuo was no longer the center of his classmate's irate attention since Teruhashi was now, apparently, a fallen angel beneath the gloriousness that was their new angel. Or did they consider Kuwabara a goddess? That seemed a bit more apt; honestly, if Kusuo still had his powers, the girl would no doubt be radiating a godly aura the likes of which would put Teruhashi's meagre angelic aura to shame.

And speaking of Teruhashi, she was staring at him. That wasn't, of itself, and unusual occurrence; Teruhashi often shot sideways glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. What was unusual was how blatant she was being. Her chin was propped on her open palm, her whole face turned in his direction, and maybe he was imagining things, but from the corner of his eye it looked like she was smiling like a love-struck idiot.

He shouldn't look—Teruhashi didn't need any more encouragement as she managed to encourage herself well enough—but the opportunity to see Teruhashi with a legitimate goofy grin on her face was too much. Kusuo glanced over, his magenta eyes meeting her indigo, and stared. She was smiling goofily, though of course—as with everything—she looked beautiful while doing it. She didn't even turn flustered and look away even when she'd been so obviously caught staring. If anything, her smile grew wider, sincerer, and Kusuo was both mortified and irritated to find himself fighting a blush.

"What?"

Stars practically fell from Teruhashi's eyes. "You didn't 'offu'."

Kusuo's eyebrow went up; since when was that a good thing in Teruhashi's eyes? "And? I never do."

"You never do for _me_." She turned her head so she cradled her whole cheek instead of just her chin. "But you didn't for her either. I thought you might when everyone started swallowing their tongues; that was such an extreme reaction that I thought only an 'offu' from you could match it, but you didn't."

Her goofy smile softened in a way that made Kusuo feel suddenly nauseous, but not necessarily in a bad way. "Thank you."

Kusuo looked forward again, ordering his faint blush to disappear _right now_. "Yare, yare."

Teruhashi giggled but let the subject drop. She even turned her attention back to Shima-sensei and started writing in her notebook. Kusuo was pretty sure she wasn't taking notes, but he was equally sure he didn't want to know what she was doing. One page of hearts, stars, and rainbows, courtesy of Aiura, was enough for one day.

The first few periods of the day dragged on and on as Kusuo waited for lunch with almost visible anxiety. More than once, he caught himself about to tap out a steady rhythm on the desk or to restlessly bounce his knee. It didn't help that Teruhashi somehow managed to get her desk and chair even closer to his than before (which should be completely impossible as they were literally side-by-side already). She'd brushed his arm with her elbow three times already—each one accompanied by a cyanide-sweet smile and a soft, "Gomen ne, Saiki-kun"—and he just _knew_ she was prepping for a fourth when the clock struck the hour; it was time for lunch.

_Maybe God **does** love me._

Before anyone could leave, not even the teacher, the classroom doors slid open with a _bang_ that made everyone jump and both Takahashi and Shun yelp like little girls. Framed in the doorway was a girl Kusuo didn't know with her waist-length chestnut hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Like Kuwabara, this girl's skin was creamy and pale, though nowhere close to the crystalline, snow-like shade of Kuwabara's, and her features were well formed for her height, which was a good ten centimeters taller.

Her eyes were a sharp, golden brown that didn't miss a thing as she scanned the room with precision and purpose. Her eyes landed on Kusuo's section of the room, but she was obviously Kuwabara's cousin—and just as pretty as Teruhashi in an entirely objective way, as evidenced by the chorus of 'offu' that went up at her unexpected intrusion—so she probably came to escort the blind girl to the cafeteria to eat.

The new girl stared for a long moment before shifting the lollipop in her mouth with the clack of candy on teeth. She pointed right at Kusuo's face.

"You."

Kusuo shifted, but the finger followed.

"Come with me."

Kusuo shifted again; again, the finger followed.

"Don't be an idiot, Saiki. You know I mean you."

Kusuo sighed at the outraged cry that went up among his classmates.

_Never mind_, Kusuo thought as he pressed his hands flat against the desktop and stood. _God hates me_.

* * *

Kaliea: So here comes one of the main inspirations behind this fic: There's always someone better. I absolutely loved the episodes with Rifuta and her shocked realization that she was no longer the most beautiful, most perfect girl in the world. Instead, she was a distant second to the smug Teruhashi Kokomi. So, how would Kokomi react to find that there was at least one person in the world to whom _she_ was a distant second?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!


	13. Yamato Nadeshiko

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

_Transfer students always mean a world of trouble for me: Toritsuka, Kuboyasu, Aiura, Akechi; not one of them has been anything but a giant pain. So, of course, these new transfer girls would be no different, even if one of them is a second year._

_Fortunately—or is it unfortunately?—Teruhashi-san wasn't about to let me go off with some unknown girl to unknown parts for an unknown reason. And naturally, if Teruhashi-san was going, so was Yumehara-san. I also doubt I need to tell you that Shun, Kuboyasu, Hairo, and Nendou all tagged along—as well as Nendou's new *shudder* admirer, Kuwabara Natsuko-san. Mera joined in, ostensibly, because food was mentioned, but she probably would have come anyway. Saiko, fortunately, declined, as he is above such "plebian things" as "peasant gatherings," and I wouldn't be able to stop Toritsuka and Akechi from coming if I tried; which, in case you're wondering, I did._

_Honestly, it wasn't all bad. I'd already planned to meet up with everyone on the roof as we'd discussed having a strategy session yesterday before I left school to pick up Yuuta. I hadn't planned on having those plans announced to the entire school. I also hadn't planned on including two other people just as, or even more, eye-catching as Teruhashi-san (mostly because, until Kuwabara-san walked into the room, I wouldn't have believed such another person could exist), but as I said, God hates me. So here I am._

_Yare, yare. All I wanted was to be ordinary; was that so wrong a request? Apparently it was, because so far, the only thing being ordinary has gotten me is an increased level of crazy._

* * *

**Yamato Nadeshiko**

Aiura lay sprawled out on a picnic blanket laid out with blue china, a lit candelabra, and an extensive meal of obvious high-quality. Rose petals were scattered all around, intermingled with lit tea lights, and she'd adjusted her uniform so it lay scandalously around her, showing strategic amounts of skin, in a way that was obviously meant to induce sexual desire.

_Yare, yare. I should have known._

"Hello, Kusu—whaaa!" Aiura sat up, pulling down her skirt and covering her exposed stomach and cleavage. "What are they all doing here?!"

"I told you we were meeting at lunch."

Aiura glared and sat cross-legged, showing just as much skin as before with only the flop of her skirt to keep her panties covered. "I thought you meant you and me! Not half the school!"

Kusuo shrugged; how was that his fault? Aiura sighed and lowered her head, both hands on her knees. "Maa, maa; if it can't be helped, it can't be helped."

Without looking up, Aiura waved at everyone. "Go ahead and help yourselves; I bought plenty."

"Really?!" A brown blur darted from behind the stunned crowd and did a running dive into a seiza position that had to hurt like hell, not that Mera noticed with a whole turkey leg in each hand. "Itadaki—_chomp_!"

Kusuo could feel the tension building and knew either one of the guys would say something stupid (probably Toritsuka, who was already salivating over the sensual glimpse he'd gotten of his fellow psychic) or Teruhashi would explode. Whether that was a literal or metaphorical explosion would forever remain a mystery Kusuo had no intention of uncovering.

"If you're done playing around, we need to talk strategy." Kusuo stepped to the side and motioned for his friends to settle onto the overladen picnic blanket. They did so with minimal fuss, though a lot of strange glances passed from Kusuo to Aiura and back again. As none of his friends were idiots (except Nendou), the byplay wasn't lost on them. But as none of his friends were idiots (except Nendou), everyone knew better than to comment.

Well, Kusuo did see Yumehara offer Teruhashi a commiserating pat on the shoulder, but since it was non-verbal, he let it slide.

"The hell kind of company do you keep, Saiki?" The brunette transfer student crossed her arms and popped out her left hip as she frowned down at Kusuo and his circle of friends. "I mean, we knew about the crazies—" She motioned to Hairo, Kuboyasu, and Shun. "But we didn't hear nothing about the shit we just walked in on."

Kusuo stiffened, shooting a suspicious glare at the pair of too pretty girls. Was she saying what he thought she was?

"Nadi-chan, that's rude." Kuwabara put a hand on her younger cousin's arm. "I'm sure Aiura-san is a very nice girl; she's just a bit aggressive."

"Aggressive my ass. Or should I say hers?" The girl snorted before a red-faced Aiura could respond and took a seat in a primly proper seiza that was completely incongruous with her extremely foul mouth. Kuwabara sat next to her, just as prim and proper. She waited patiently as her cousin poured her a cup of tea, her sightless eyes settled unnervingly on Nendou.

_Wait, tea_? Kusuo didn't remember seeing a tea set laid out when they first came upstairs, and his memory was perfect.

"He's nowhere near as pretty as you think he is, Natsu."

"You only say that because you can't see what I can." Kuwabara let her crazy cousin guide her hands around the body of a blue teacup so delicately spun, light shown through it. _Where did __that **come** from?_ "He's completely untainted, Nadi-chan; he reminds me of otou-sama."

"Nadi-chan's" eyebrows went up. "No shit?" She looked Nendou over with a mixture of respect and incredulity. "Sure doesn't look like much on this spectrum, but I bow to your superior sight."

"Hey." That yankee vein in Kuboyasu's forehead was popping again, though it was clear he was trying to control his 'kill em all' expression, if only for Teruhashi's sake. And maybe Yumehara and Mera, assuming he remembered they were there. "Not that your poor attempt at street slang ain't cute or nothin', but who the hell are you?"

"You better as hell not be leveling that attitude at me, you reformed hood wannabe." Nadi seemed to have the same yankee vein as Kuboyasu, but she was much better at schooling her expression. Kusuo had a flashback to his first real conversation with Teruhashi Makoto. He smiled that exact same smile this Nadi person now used while spitting the same level of vitriol.

"Oh yeah? And what if I am?" Kuboyasu was very quickly losing the battle with his temper as he leaned forward with his arms firmly crossed. Kusuo didn't need psychic powers to know her was also clenching his fists. "You wanna throw down, bitch?"

"Hey, now, Aren." Hairo dropped a hand on Kuboyasu's shoulder with a disapproving frown. "That's no way to talk to a lady."

Nadi blinked, her smile faltering as she turned her attention to Hairo. Her mild disbelief quickly shifted to equally mild amusement as she moved the lollipop from one side of her mouth to the other. "Thanks, Hi-toko, but I don't need back up. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Oh, wow, Nadi-chan! How did you know his aura was like fire?"

Nadi takes her eyes down Hairo with an appreciative gleam. "Lucky guess."

Hairo shuffled uncertainly and scratched his cheek with a faint blush. For all his well-intended bravado, he really had no idea about girls.

"Who are you?" Kusuo said, tired of the ambiguous game the girls were playing. It wasn't cute, it wasn't funny, it wasn't appreciated, and if he still had his powers, he would let them know all of that with impunity.

Nadi rolled her eyes at Kusuo and adjusted her seiza so she could set down the finely spun, clay teapot. _Seriously, where did that come from? And is she eating a strawberry mochi_?

Kusuo looked around at the western-style feast Aiura had provided. No tea service, no mochi, no sushi—_wait, sushi_?

"I put some yellowfin on a plate for you, Natsu. Be careful you don't knock it over."

"Wah! Arigato, Nadi-chan!"

_Where is this stuff **coming from**_?

"All right." Nadi finished serving her blind cousin, who was happily and daintily nibbling on a yellowfin tuna roll. "No need for introductions on your end, we already know who you are because we've been watching—"

"I knew it!" Shun rose to one knee, his still-bandaged right arm held straight out in front of him. "You're minions working for Dark Reunion, here to steal the great demon power sealed within my right arm. But you're gravely mistaken if you believe I, the Jet-Black Wings—!"

Nadi flicked the air and Shun jerked back as if shot right between the eyes.

"Kaidoh!" "Shun!"

Kuboyasu came to his feet, fists raised. "You damn bitch! What the hell did you—!"

Nadi twirled her finger through the air and Kuboyasu's arms and legs snapped to his sides, pinned down by some invisible force. He yelped, tottering this way and that, before he lost his balance and pitched to the side. Fortunately, Mera was right beside him. She grabbed him before he could fall onto the sponge cake Aiura had bought and carefully laid him on his back with his head in her lap. She dangled a strawberry over his lips.

"Hungry, Kuboyasu-san?"

Kuboyasu stared at her, incredulous, but opened his mouth anyway. Mera fed him the strawberry, then reached over him, probably smothering him with her boobs, to stack more food onto her already teeming plate.

"What are you doing, Mera?" Yumehara was practically in tears as she cradled a comatose looking Shun to her chest. "How can you keep eating when those…those…_people_ just attacked Kaidoh-kun and Kuboyasu-san?"

"Because." Mera broke apart the breastbone of the rotisserie-style chicken no one else had had a chance to pick at. The ominous crunch of ribs and spine made Kusuo cringe, but Mera didn't hesitate as she carefully pulled the meat from between the bones and set it on her plate. Her face was impassive, made completely unreadable by the white glare on her glasses. "Eating gives me super strength."

"Ehhh?!"

"Mera!" Teruhashi slapped her palms on the rooftop, leaning forward with a frown. "This isn't the time for your games!"

"Actually, if I may interject, Teruhashi-san. From my observations, I would have to say that Mera-san isn't playing games. In fact, based on the ratio of sustenance to starvation she endures, it would be impossible for a normal human to maintain such a healthy lifestyle and robust figure. I've calculated that the more Mera-san is able to eat on a regular basis, the longer she is able to go without; a remarkable if otherwise seemingly useless talent. Though I suppose it has enabled her to take care of her brothers and sisters with minimal damage to herself. In addition, Mera-san's energy level seems to rise based on the quality of the food, for while she can subsist on grass, she is much more—"

"TOO LONG!"

The intruder girls laughed, Kuwabara daintily and softly, like the tinkling of a silver bell, while her brown-haired cousin laughed loud and long, though she still maintained her too proper posture.

"Oh, wow!" Nadi wound down to harsh chuckles. "Looks like you missed a crazy, Natsu!"

"Honestly, Nadi-chan," Kuwabara said, still giggling softly. "You're being very rude."

"All right, all right." Nadi waved her cousin off and looked around the group, pointing to each as she said their names. "Teruhashi Kokomi: Low-level new psychic with an open territory. Able to charm anyone interested in women, including other women, simply by being seen, excepting people who are already in love, a-sexual, or too innocent to understand."

"Hairo Kineshi: Reborn, so no territory. Strong reiki with latent pyrokinetic abilities."

"Aiura Mikoto: Mid-level new psychic with an open territory. Aura sight, clairvoyance, and minor precognition that grows less reliable the further out she reads. Potential: tapped out."

"Toritsuka Reita: Low-level natural psychic. Sees ghosts. Massive pervert."

"Oi!"

Aiura jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Shut it, perv."

Nadi went on as if the exchange never happened. "Mera Chisato: Mid-level new psychic with an enclosed territory. Ability to metabolize organic matter into reiki."

"Kuboyasu Aren: Reborn; no territory. Excessive strength, latent reiki with good potential for physical manifestation."

"Yumehara Chiyo: no known powers."

Nadi pointed at Akechi. "Blondie, I don't know and really don't care to know. He talks to much, and his face creeps me out." She moved on. "Nendou Riki: Reborn. Powers unknown, ability unknown, potential unknown. The only thing we know for sure is he can rebound any attempts at telepathy."

_Because he's an idiot. If there are no thoughts in the head, there are no thoughts to read._

"Kaidoh Shun: Reborn. Potential is nearly off the charts. Predicted power is Psychokinesis, but possibly others as well."

_Wait, what_?

"Reiki patterns suggest the right arm as the strongest conduit for release."

_What_?

"Powers currently sealed."

**_What_**?

"And then there's you." Nadi pinned Kusuo with her haughty golden eyes. "Saiki Kusuo: Reborn. Powers: none. Potential: Useless. Way to go, dumbass."

Kusuo gritted his teeth.

"All right, that's enough." Hairo stood and held out an arm as if to block everyone from her view. "You've said your piece; you obviously know who we are. Now answer our question, who are you?"

"Well." Nadi smiled prettily, her golden eyes flashing. "This is my cousin, Kuwabara Natsuko."

Kuwabara bowed; she held a half-nibbled mochi with both hands.

"Natural psychic, so no territory. Powers include aura sight, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, reiki manifestation, and jigen tou—dimension cutting."

Kusuo blinked at that. He'd never heard of such a power before. Were there actually psychic abilities he hadn't had?

"And then there's me: Yamato Nadeshiko."

"Ehhh?!"

"Are you _serious_?"

"What kind of name—how could your parents _possibly_—"

"…powerful name that implies both modern and ancient nobility, commonly used as a moniker to describe young ladies who represent the paragon of Japanese feminine virtue—"

"No one asked for your explanation, blondie; I'm well aware of what my name means, aside from my mom having the worst sense of humor."

"Oh, Nadi-chan. I wouldn't say Shizuru-oba-sama has the _worst_ sense of humor. Look at Shinne-kun and Katoko-chan."

Yamato—_It's good to know her real name so I don't have to keep using that stupid nickname_—cringed and shuddered a bit. "My mom has the second-worst sense of humor."

"Well, there's also the twins—"

"Okay, I get it! _Dad_, Natsu, you're killing me!"

Natsu sniffled and felt around for her teacup. "No need to be so rude, Nadi-chan."

"You never answered Shun's question."

Yamato looked over at Kusuo with a frown. "What question?"

"Do you work for Dark Reunion?"

The sudden reminder of what they'd come to the roof to discuss put everyone not half-unconscious or invisibly bound on edge as they prepared to attack, depending on Yamato's answer. She scoffed.

"Not hardly. In fact, we're out to stop Dark Reunion. It's the reason we transferred to your city in the first place."

"How did you find out about us, anyway?" Teruhashi looked fierce at the demand, and Kusuo wondered if she would leap over the picnic blanket to get her hands around Yamato's neck if she found the younger girl's answer unsatisfactory. "Have you been watching Saiki-kun?"

Yamato quirked an eyebrow. "Obviously. We've been watching all of you, in case you're one of those people unable to extrapolate from incomplete data."

Hairo crossed his arms, making him appear to loom over the two transfer girls as he had yet to sit back down. "And who, exactly, is 'we'?"

"My family." Yamato rolled her eyes. "Duh." She eyed Akechi with mild interest. "It didn't escape your notice, did it, blondie?"

"Of course, I noticed that you swore by your dad. A strange occurrence unless one considers that children often believe their parents to be at or near deific standards; a state of mind that usually dissipates before the formidable junior high school years when children begin to feel their parents are actually the paragon of ignorance and repression. That you, a high school student, would still maintain the elevation of your father to such a degree would suggest you either never outgrew the point where you believed your father to be all-knowing and invincible—"

"Oh. My. _Dad_." Yamato mimed a zipper, and Akechi went immediately silent. "Can you not say anything without saying everything? Just get to the point!"

Akechi mumbled something exhaustive through his sealed lips, and Yamato rolled her eyes with disgust. "Seriously, blondie, this is your last chance. Keep your answer to five words or less, or never speak again."

"There's no need to be so rude, Nadi-chan."

Yamato ignored Kuwabara and reversed her zipper motion. The blond boy worked his lips for a moment, clearly fascinated by what just happened, but Yamato's glare was enough to put him back on track.

"You are Enma-sama's daughter."

Everyone stared at Akechi, partly for making such an extremely ridiculous statement, but mostly because he really had confined his answer to just five words.

_It's a miracle._

"Bzzt, bzzt." Yamato held her pointer fingers up in an X. "Wrong."

_Of course, he's wrong; who, besides Shun, would think up such a ridiculous—?_

"Enma-sama was my grandfather, but he was a bastard, so my dad and uncles gave him the boot. My dad is _Ko_enma-sama. But yeah, you're basically right." Yamato grinned a surprisingly malicious grin for how polite it was. "I'm the daughter of the Gatekeeper god. Feel free to bask in my presence."

* * *

Kaliea: So this cross-over was one of my main reasons for writing this story. Unfortunately, this isn't a "direct sequel" to Yu Yu Hakusho (which is my absolute favorite anime of all time), it's actually the sequel to a Yu Yu Hakusho fanfiction I never finished writing. Oops ^-^;

There's also one other anime that will play a major role in the overall outcome of this story, but I doubt anyone will ever guess what it is until I tell you. Good luck guessing, though :D

Thanks for reading!


	14. Cutting School

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

_We didn't believe her, obviously. Who would? Except Nendou who did, in fact, believe her. He even thought it made **sense**. Something about how Teruhashi-san is as beautiful as an angel, so if these girls are more beautiful (debatable in Yamato-san's case), then they could only be goddesses._

_Yare, yare._

_Shun came-to around that same time, but Kuboyasu still couldn't move. Whatever that girl did to him isn't wearing off on its own. We went back and forth for a while, Yamato and her cousin trying to convince us that they weren't stark raving mad, with Teruhashi-san, Shun, Hairo, and Kuboyasu alternately demanding the truth to absolutely no success._

_What, you want to know what was said? Yare, yare, isn't it obvious? It was the same things over and over. _

_"I'm telling the truth."_

_"No, you're not."_

_"Yes, I am."_

_"No, you're not."_

_"Am."_

_"Not."_

_"Am."_

_ I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point._

_Before anyone knew it, lunch was over and no one but Mera-san and that Kuwabara girl had eaten anything. I'm going to hear all about that later, aren't I? Yare, yare._

_It's after the first bell, but we're still sitting here, both sides arguing back and forth. Both Teruhashi-san and Yamato-san look red enough to explode. Maybe they will and we can forget about all of this and go home._

_Yare, yare, Kuwabara-san is watching me—she has aura vision so she can tell where living beings are despite being blind—and I don't like that look in her eyes…_

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**Cutting School**

"Nadi-chan." Kuwabara's soft, ultra-feminine voice cut through the squabbling teens like a hot knife through warm butter. All the boys—except Kusuo—swallowed their tongues at her soft, sweet smile. "I don't think all this talking will get us anywhere. Why don't we just show them?"

Yamato turned an incredulous frown on her cousin. "You want to take them to the temple? Right now?"

"Mm-hm." Kuwabara's ruby eyes closed, enhancing the cuteness of her smile and eliciting another round of 'ng's. "We're already late for class, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Eh?" Hairo blinked and looked around as if that would somehow help him tell the time. "What do you mean? There's only been one bell—"

The final bell sounded like a death knell, and nearly everyone seemed to whither in disbelief.

_Yare, yare._

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to take everyone." Kuwabara daintily filled her delicate, little china bowl with an assortment of pickles to compliment her white rice—_Where is she **getting** this stuff from_?—as she smiled up at everyone. "It would look very suspicious if an entire group of seniors, only a few of whom are known to associate on a regular basis, up and disappeared along with two new students. What would people say?"

"Ma, ma." Aiura rested her elbow on her drawn-up knee, very nearly flashing everyone. Again. "It'll look like a bunch of seniors decided to start summer vacation early. What's suspicious about that?"

Yamato looked down her nose at Aiura in disgust. "We don't care what it looks like to your friends at school, we care what it looks like to the people watching you. You know, those Dark Reunion guys? All of you leave together and you may as well turn yourselves over right now; especially if they figure out you left with _us_."

Yumehara started, her grip tightening on Shun's neck until he gurgled foam and turned white. "Are you saying things will be worse if They know you're involved? Will we get h-hurt?"

Yamato gave Yumehara a pointed look before glancing down at Shun. "No more than what you're doing, but since I'm pretty sure that kid's dead, I'll let that speak for itself."

"Eh?" Yumehara looked down at Shun's pale face and rolled back eyes. "Wahh! Kaidoh-kun! I'm so, so sorry!"

"I think they have a point, you guys." Hairo turned to his friends with an imploring expression as he clenched his fists. "We don't know who these people are or what they're capable of. When the opponent has you thirty-love, you don't want to rush the net for a desperate point. You're only giving them the opportunity to slam."

_No one but you speaks tennis, Hairo._

Yamato nodded, the interested gleam in her eye spiking with appreciation. "A tennis man, huh?" She fluttered her lashes at him. "Be still my heart."

…_Yare, yare_. As if this situation wasn't complicated enough.

"All right then!" Fire erupted in Hairo's eyes as he clenched his fists, either oblivious to Yamato's blatant flirtation or too uncertain to know how to react. Probably both. "First thing to do is decide who stays and who goes."

Every hand but Kusuo's shot up. "I'll go!" "—as I would be most interested in expanding my knowledge of the spiritual—"

"Blondie, I swear to my dad—"

"I'm sorry, everyone, but no." Kuwabara shook her head sadly, regaining everyone's attention with her soft-spoken apology. "I'm afraid it will have to be only those who are directly involved."

Everyone blinked and looked around. Teruhashi raised a hesitant hand. "I don't understand, aren't we all directly involved?"

"Sorry, Teruhashi." Yamato didn't sound sorry in the least. "You all got involved, but only five of you were involved from the beginning; whether you knew it or not."

_Let me guess…_

With a quick zig of her finger, Yamato pointed at Kaidoh, Nendou, Hairo, Kuboyasu, and Kusuo. "You, you, you, you, and you."

_I knew it._

"The rest of you will just have to stay here and suck it up."

A flurry of protests rang out, centering around Teruhashi, Aiura, and Yumehara. All three girls tried to argue why they should be allowed to come along. Teruhashi and Aiura both played up their powers, even though Teruhashi had literally only learned of hers ten minutes ago, and Yumehara did her best to stay relevant by saying she could take really good notes, well half-way decent notes at least. Okay, so she wasn't very good with notes, but she could carry water or run errands or…She trailed off, poking her fingers together, and looked ready to burst into tears.

A hand dropped onto Yumehara's head and she looked up to see Shun standing beside her, his face and voice serious as he stared Yamato down. "Don't worry, Yumehara-san. We'll be sure to come back, safe and sound, and when we do, we'll have all the answers we'll need."

Yumehara blushed in awe, small tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. "Kaidoh-kun…"

He smiled down at her. "So wait for us, okay, Yumehara-san?"

"Oh, Kaidoh-kun!" She clasped her hands beneath her chin. "I'll wait for you forever!"

_He's not God, Yumehara-san._

"Well it's fine for Chiyo-pipi to stay, she might get hurt otherwise, but there's no reason I can't go!"

"Or me!" Teruhashi leaned forward, one hand pressed earnestly to her breast. "If something's happening, then I want to be a part of it! You can't make me sit on the sidelines like some damsel in distress—!"

"Teruhashi-san." Kusuo met Teruhashi's indigo eyes with an unwavering stare. "If I'm late coming back, someone will need to pick up Yuuta from school."

Realization lanced through her as she pulled back, blinking wildly. She looked from Yamato and Kuwabara to Kusuo to the rest of their friends. Her eyes fell back on Kusuo, and she scowled. "You better be back in time. If not, you'll miss the train."

"Aa." Kusuo nodded once. "I'll be back."

"Eh? Train?" Aiura frowned. "Kusuo, what—?"

"Could you guys please work out your little love triangle on your own time? I mean, damn, talk about airing your dirty laundry."

Kusuo glared at Yamato, but she wasn't the least bit repentant as she shrugged and stood. She held a hand out to her cousin to help her rise gracefully to her feet.

"You charged enough for this, Natsu? It's further than you've cut before. Kazu-ji will kill me if you wear yourself out."

Kuwabara swatted playfully at Yamato's arm. "He will not, Nadi-chan, and you know it. Shizuru-oba-sama would string him up by his entrails from the eaves of the temple's omote-mon as a warning."

"Ng!" The boys all said, but for a completely different reason than before. Kusuo didn't blame them, he'd almost swallowed his own tongue at hearing something so vulgar come out of the sweet Kuwabara-chan's mouth.

_Yare, yare. She's just like Teruhashi-san; pretty to her rotten little core. _For some bizarre reason, that thought almost made Kusuo smile.

"Yare, yare." Yamato waved her cousin off, and Kusuo frowned at her theft of his signature phrase. "Go do what you need to. I'll make sure everyone's together for a quick jump."

"W-wait!" Shun looked like a deer caught in headlights as he stared at Yamato in pure horror. "You mean we're leaving now? As in, right now? As in, before school's over? As in, c-c-cut—?"

"Cutting school?" Yamato quirked an eyebrow. "Geez, kid, keep up. I didn't hit you _that_ hard. But then, you are a little pansy-ass, aren't you?"

Shun gaffed indignantly.

"Don't worry Shun-kun." Yamato smiled her usual sweet, polite smile that was brimming with obviously evil intentions. "Yuu-ji will beat that right out of you."

#

It took some doing, but eventually, everyone but Kusuo and the other four guys hurried down to class with Teruhashi as their shield from being late. With Kuwabara gone, it should work just as well now as it ever did before, so Kusuo wasn't worried about repercussions. He and the guys had also armed Teruhashi with legitimate (-ish, in Kuboyasu's case) excuses for why they didn't come back to class.

Kuboyasu didn't look at all pleased despite being released from his invisible bonds. He kept shooting murderous glances at Yamato and muttering under his breath between bites of shredded chicken Mera had reluctantly parted with before going back to class. Yamato either didn't notice or didn't care as she stood behind her meditating cousin with her arms crossed and her hip popped. Kuwabara hadn't moved or spoken in almost five minutes, and it was beginning to wear on even Kusuo's nerves.

Was this all an elaborate hoax? Something those "Dark Reunion" characters came up with to mess with Kusuo and his friends even more? He supposed it was possible that someone had found out about his psychic powers and his subsequent sealing of said powers then decided to play an elaborate prank as a way of messing with Kusuo's now telepathy-free mind. But who would do something like that? It would take an absurd amount of coordination, money, forethought, planning, and obsession with Kusuo and his life to even contemplate such an undertaking. Who would go through all that trouble?

_Kusuke_. Kusuo scowled. _That utter, fracking **bastard**_.

Shooting his gaze about as subtly as possible, Kusuo tried to pinpoint where the cameras might be placed. No doubt Kusuke was having a grand-old laugh at Kusuo's expense. Well, he'd better enjoy that laugh while he had the chance because when Kusuo next got ahold of him, he'll be laughing through a tube.

An electric crack followed by a warped '_shwoom_' cut the deepening silence on the rooftop, and Kusuo jerked his attention back to Kuwabara. She was still kneeling, her red eyes closed, but she now had her hand wrapped around the shaft of what looked like a naginata. A shiny, golden naginata that sounded exactly like a lightsaber.

_What_?

"Holy shit!" Kuboyasu spun around and grasped Kusuo's uniform shirt in a tight fist as he gestured at the gold weapon with his other, flailing, hand. "Kusuo! Did you see that, man? It literally just appeared! The hell kind of shit is this mess?"

Kusuo shrugged and brushed off Kuboyasu's hand. _Like I know_.

"Please keep your distance, mina-san." Kuwabara's ruby eyes opened, but she stared sightlessly at the roof's parapet just ahead of her. "I'm still not very good with my jigen tou. I wouldn't want to cut off a limb by accident. That would be terrible."

As one, the boys stepped back. Kuboyasu even cupped himself out of reflex. Yamato rolled her eyes. "Unless that's the limb you lead with, I'm pretty sure you're all just fine there."

"Eh?" Kuwabara looked over and cocked her head. "Which limb, Nadi-chan?"

"Never you mind." She made a shooing motion. "Get cutting before you fall over."

Kuwabara nodded and faced forward again. She took a steeling breath and went up on one knee, shifting her naginata so it was diagonal across her body with the blade facing forward. In a quick, fluid stroke, she sliced through the air from the bottom right to the top left. It was a beautiful, well-practiced move, but that's not what held the guy's interest or awe. Hovering in the air, at the exact angle of her cut, was a tear of light just wide enough to show a completely different skyline from the one visible from the school roof.

Through the tear, Kusuo could make out a long, steep, seemingly unending case of stone stairs and the corner of a traditional, vermillion torii gate. Braided ropes, the kinds used by monks and mikos to create wards, were visible on two or three of the forest of enormous trees that Kusuo knew wouldn't be found anywhere near Tokyo. Impossible as it seemed—impossible as it _was_—Kuwabara had somehow ripped a hole not just through the air but through space itself.

"Oi!" Yamato glared at the gaping boys. "You gonna stand there all day like a bunch of dumbasses?"

"I…what…" Hairo shook himself, his dropped jaw snapping shut. "What do we do?"

"And just when I thought you had promise too." Yamato let out a long-suffering sigh and held her hand out toward the hole in space. "It's a door, boys. You do know what to do with a door, right?"

"Oooh!" Nendou rubbed the back of his head with a riotous laugh. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place, lady?" He strode forward without concern. "I may not know what to do with a hole in the sky, but a door's a completely different thing! Didn't know doors came in ripped shapes like this one, but a door's a door, right?"

"Nendou!" Shun's hand shot out as if he could grab the pseudo-punk and drag him back. Too late; Nendou stepped through the tear in the air and disappeared from view.

"Nendou!" Kuboyasu and Hairo rushed forward with Shun close behind. Kusuo forced himself to move slowly, deliberately—he didn't want either of these girls to think they'd gotten to him—but something inside insisted he hurry. Surely Nendou wasn't dead, though. There's no way these girls would be so stupid as to do something that would kill him with Kusuo and the others standing _right there_.

Nendou's face popped up in the gap between the tear in space making Shun scream like a little girl and both Kuboyasu and Hairo strike a fighting stance. Even Kusuo had locked up at the sudden appearance, especially considering the blood now running down Nendou's face.

"Careful, guys! That first step's a doozy!"

_Yare, yare._

Yamato sighed and sent Kuwabara a flat stare. "This is the guy you're interested in."

Kuwabara beamed. "Isn't he cute?"

Grumbling, Yamato waved the boys closer to the tear. "Hurry up, you idiots. Natsu can't hold this all day, and you really don't want to be half-way through when it closes."

Shun stiffened. "Wh-what happens if—?"

Kuboyasu picked Shun up by the back of his shirt and passed him through the tear to Nendou. "Don't think about it, Shun. You'll only scare yourself."

Silently agreeing that Shun had a right to be uneasy, Kusuo waited for his chance to pass through the tear while Hairo hung back to help the two women. Fortunately, everyone passed through without incident with almost a full minute to spare before the tear seemed to knit itself back together starting at the corners until all that remained was an uninterrupted view of long, steep stairs, a sea of endless forest, and an unknown temple with a yakkyakumon style gate sealed off by heavy, wooden doors.

"Welcome to the Sanctuary." Kuwabara said as she and Yamato bowed formally. "We hope you enjoy your stay."

_Creepy_.

The front doors eased open behind the bowing girls, swinging outward, but no one was opening them.

_Creepy_.

Kusuo still wasn't convinced that this whole thing wasn't an elaborate hoax planned by his stupid brother. It seemed like the kind of stupidly elaborate thing he'd do.

"All right, enough of the polite shit." Yamato strode toward the gates, pausing only long enough to wave the five boys forward. "Come on; Kazu-ji and Yuki-ba will have food waiting."

Four of the boys shared an uncertain glance, and the unspoken lot fell on Hairo. He stifled a sigh and said, "How did they know to make food?"

Yamato grinned. "Because while my father may be the all-seeing Gatekeeper, Kazu-ji is Izanagi-O."

_What_?

"That's right." Her grin widened. "My uncle, Kuwabara Kazuma, is the father of the gods reborn."

* * *

Kaliea: Not a particularly epic chapter, but important nonetheless. I enjoy writing the byplay between the characters because they're all so different. I have to admit that the core group (Kusuo, Kaidoh, Nendou, Kuboyasu, Mera, Kokomi, and Chiyo) are my favorites, however, and so will receive the most attention. That said, the others are not without place :) Next chapter, we get some more backstory and the boys plan their summer training.

Thanks for reading!


	15. Father of Gods

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

_If this really is an elaborate prank, Kusuke is a dead man. And if it's not?_

_Yare, yare. The last thing I want to do is meet God in person; hasn't he screwed with my life enough?_

_Speaking of which, will I go to Hell if I punch God in the face? Considering how much he hates me, I'm probably going there anyway, so I might as well earn it._

* * *

**Father of Gods**

"Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, tadaima kaerimashita!" Kuwabara—_probably can't call her Kuwabara now; things will get confusing_—skipped out of her school shoes and onto the engawa lining the mid-sized tearoom with open shoji screens where Kuwabara Kazuma and his wife Kuwabara Yukina sat enjoying the mid-summer sun.

Yukina smiled as she set a plate of yaki manju in front of her husband, who had a newspaper open in front of his face. Both wore simple yukata, likely in deference to the heat, and Yukina had her thick hair pulled up in a simple bun at the nape of her neck and tied with a red ribbon.

"Natsuko-chan, Nadeshiko-chan, okaeri nasai. Eh?" She blinked at the boys, most of whom shuffled nervously and looked away with faint blushes. "Oh! You must be the boys Kazuma said would come." She bowed. "Welcome. Please, make yourselves at home."

"I was wondering how long it would take before Natsu and Nadi got you here." Kuwabara folded his newspaper and set it aside. Kusuo stared.

_The Father of Gods is a yankee_.

He had the same, curly hair done up in a pompadour style that Kuboyasu had before he went straight; minus the mullet. It was also the same bright orange as his daughter's and matched his neatly trimmed goatee. Surprisingly, while not ugly, he was nowhere near as pretty as Kusuo had expected for being the so-called "god of gods." He was actually extremely normal-looking, if not taller than average for a Japanese man. His wife, on the other hand, was very pretty—Teruhashi pretty—with mint-green hair and the same ruby eyes as her daughter. She was also extremely small and delicate looking, which must be where Natsuko got it from.

Kuwabara snorted and shot an amused glance at his daughter and niece. "Nadi told you, eh? She likes doing that; says it's fun to see the looks of surprise on peoples' faces when they see me and realize how ugly I am."

Yamato shouted in protest. "I never said you were ugly, Kazu-ji!"

"Kazuma." Yukina sent her husband a sharp glare. "What have I said?"

Kuwabara grinned and rubbed his nose with one finger as he blushed. "Heh, heh, sorry, Baby. I was just repeating, not believing."

"You better not believe any such thing. You shouldn't even repeat it!" Yukina wrapped around the table and knelt by her husband's side so she could take his face in both of her small hands. "You're the handsomest man in the world, and anyone who says otherwise is a fool."

"Oh, Yukina." Kuwabara's expression softened even further as he cradled her face with his left palm. "Whatever I did to deserve you will forever be my greatest achievement."

Yukina blushed sweetly, but Yamato gagged before she could return the sentiment.

"Can you please do the lovey-dovey shit behind closed doors? Gah, you're as bad as my parents!"

Yukina's blush deepened, and she pulled back with a nervous giggle. "Sorry, Nadeshiko-chan. We'll be more mindful in the future."

Kuwabara grumbled but ultimately complied. He turned his attention back to the five boys who looked on in varying degrees of uncomfortable ranging from Nendou—who looked blissfully oblivious—to Shun—who was blushing like a first-year junior high girl.

_Yare, yare._

"You might as well come up and eat something; Yukina will be disappointed if you don't."

Kuboyasu and Shun scrambled forward, obviously horrified by the idea of disappointing this beautiful lady who didn't look old enough to be Nadeshiko's big sister, never mind her mother. Kusuo moved with equal speed, though his concern was more for the sweets than hurting anyone's feelings. He knelt on the cushion nearest to the open wall, his socked feet baking lightly beneath the fall of mid-afternoon sunlight not blocked by the ceiling, and waited with forced patience for Yukina to serve him a plate.

The sweet buns had a flaky, brittle crust that paired well with the lightly sweetened red bean paste filling as it fell apart on his tongue. _Ah, bliss_…

"Wow." Yamato's haughty tone cut through Kusuo's savoring of the treat. He shot her a glare, but Yamato was unaffected as she sat at the table with her chin in her palm, grinning. "No wonder Teruhashi's nuts about you. You're pretty cute when you're all '_hanyan_' about sweets."

"Nadeshiko-chan," Yukina scolded as she passed out more plates. "Don't tease. It isn't ladylike."

"Yes, Yuki-ba."

"Here you are, Saiki-san. Kazuma suggested I prepare this as well." A small dish of coffee jelly appeared to replace Kusuo's empty plate, and he nearly cried for happiness. _No wonder she's married to a god; only a god would deserve her_!

He clapped his hands in thanks and dug in with relish. A warm, earthy tang infused with just a hint of chocolate sweetness. _Bliss. Bliss, bliss, bliss_.

Yukina giggled and continued passing out additional treats ranging from sugar-coated, strawberry mochi for a blushing Shun to steaming ramen for a starry-eyed Nendou. All the treats were gleefully and gratefully received.

"So you probably got a lot of questions; kami know I did when I was in your place. Except I was a few years younger and a whole lot stupider than you punks are now."

"Kazuma." There was a frown in the lady deity's voice, but Kusuo was too enthralled by his coffee jelly to look up.

Kuwabara chuckled. "Was, Yukina-love, was. Even you have to admit I didn't always make the best impression."

Yukina sniffed dismissively as she took a seat at the table in front of her own sweet treat. "I have to do no such thing."

"Ah! My sweet love! I don't—!"

"Kazu-ji? Sometime today would be great."

"Right, right. Almost forgot."

_I'd usually say 'yare, yare' right here, but I really don't mind if this goes on all day as long as there's more coffee jelly._

"Okay, so here's the gist. You five guys were different guys in another life who came back as you five guys because some god decided you deserved another chance at a better life. We don't know who you were, we haven't figured that out yet, but the powers you have are supposed to be similar to the powers you had in your past life or something. I'm not really sure."

Kuboyasu was obviously fighting the annoyance trying to manifest on his face as half his expression was a bright, 'goody-goody' smile while the other half was scrunched and shadowed with a twitching brow. "You don't seem to know very much for a god."

Kuwabara snorted. "I'm not a god, kid." He held up his thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart. "I'm just a small piece of one. There's a lot of pieces of Him scattered around time and space, and most of the pieces don't even know they _are_ pieces. The only reason I know as much as I do about who I am is because I have _two_ pieces." He paused a moment, his hand going to his goatee. "And because they were ripped out of me a few years ago, but that's unrelated to right now."

Kusuo frowned. _Ripped out?_

"Two pieces?" Hairo paused with a bite of hamburger steak hanging just in front of his mouth. "How did you get two pieces? I'd think if a god was going to break himself into little bits, he wouldn't want those bits to cross."

Kuwabara shrugged, his eyes on his wife, who sat quietly but was looking progressively more distressed. He laid his hand over hers, startling her, and when she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. Kuwabara smiled at her, patting her small, pale hands twice. Yukina relaxed at that, even managed a small smile, but she didn't attempt to pull her hands away. Instead, she turned one over and laced their fingers together.

"Best Koenma can figure it, I have two pieces of Him because I originally had two souls." Kuwabara looked at the boys and put his spare hand over his heart. "The first one was the original me, the new soul created for the body of Kuwabara Kazuma. The second one is my Reborn self. Just like you guys, I have an old soul from another world—like a reincarnation, I guess. Usually, they only go into bodies that don't yet have a soul, but because that soul also had a piece of Him, the two souls resonated and the two pieces combined, turning my two souls into one soul. Get it?"

"No," Kuboyasu said, point-blank. "Not at all."

Yamato sighed. "It's like your castella, idiot. When you start out, the flour, sugar, eggs, and stuff are separate, but once you put them together and bake it, the ingredients become a cake, and no matter what you do to it, the cake will always be cake; it can never go back to being an egg or water or sugar or whatever. Kazu-ji's souls got baked together and now they can't come apart. Get it now?"

Kuboyasu looked down at his fluffy cake and poked it with his fork, creating crumbs. Understanding filtered over his face, and he nodded.

"Right, so," Kuwabara said with a grateful nod at his niece. "For about fifty years or so, a lot of the Reborn have gone missing. It started slow with the least powerful ones, mostly normal humans with natural psychic abilities, but after what happened in Mushiori City twenty years ago, things got way worse."

Kusuo perked up, so surprised by that name, he nearly dropped his spoonful of jelly. "Mushiori City?"

Kuwabara nodded, and Kusuo's brow furrowed. "What happened?"

"A rogue Spirit Detective happened." Kuwabara clenched his fist, his dark eyes taking on a distant gleam. "He and his team opened a portal to demon world under the city, and the transient energy got into humans and turned them into psychics."

Kuwabara motioned toward the two girls. "Natsu said you have some friends at your school with minor psychic abilities. It's probably because either they were either born in Mushiori city or at least one of their parents lived there while the gate was being opened. Even now, the place has way more youki and reiki than other places. Older people don't just become psychics anymore, but a lot of new psychics are still being born."

Kusuo gaped, unable to hide it. Is that why he was so powerful? Because he was born in Mushiori City? And not just that, his mother had been born and raised in Mushiori City until she met his father on her school trip and moved to Tokyo. Add on Kusuo's status as a one of those Reborn souls, possibly a really strong one too, and it actually almost made sense why he had so much power. He may not be two souls in one, but he _was_ like a sports car modified to run on rocket fuel.

"Actually, now that you mention it…" Kuboyasu looked around, as if searching for agreement. "Wasn't Mera's family originally from Mushiori? They moved here after her dad lost his job and ran off."

"Eh?" Hairo scratched his nose in thought. "Were they?"

Shun frowned. "I never heard anything about that. Did she tell you, Aren?"

"Ah…well, you know. We talk sometimes about food and work and stuff. It must have come up then."

_Kuboyasu and Mera? Never saw **that** coming_…Not that it was necessarily anything; except that light blush on Kuboyasu's cheeks _was_ a bit damning.

"You mentioned that people like us," Shun waved between himself and his friends, "have been going missing over the years. Do you think it's the work of Dark Reunion?"

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, it's Dark Reunion, all right. They were part of the faction that killed me about eighteen years ago and kidnapped my soul."

Kusuo's spoon stopped half-way into his mouth. _What_?

"After Koenma got my body stitched back together—"

_What_?

"—the guys had to break into Hell and crack a few heads to get my soul back."

**_What_**?

Yukina whimpered as Kuwabara spoke and he turned a compassionate frown on his wife. "Baby, why don't you go check on Yuki? He should be waking up soon."

Yukina nodded quickly and withdrew, leaving a clatter of tears in her wake.

_Wait, **clatter**_? Kusuo stared at the tatami mats where several shimmering gems rolled this way and that.

"Um, Kuwabara…sama?" Shun lifted his hand tentatively, looking a bit green from shock. "Did…did your wife just cry pearls?"

Kuwabara swept the gems into his hand and slipped them into his yukata's obi. "No."

"But—"

"_No_." Kuwabara turned a dark glare onto the five boys. "And if you ever bring it up again, I'll rip your spleens out through your noses. Got it?"

Blank, shocked faces. "A-aye, sir…"

_Yare, yare. Again with the wrong anime…_

After a dense, uncomfortable pause, Kuwabara cleared his throat and reached for his tea. "Anyway, the guys that got me were looking for clues to some big, important Reborn. They knew it wasn't me, but they thought my Kami Shards would point them in the right direction."

More silence. Hairo spoke up, "Did they?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "Couldn't. The kid wasn't born yet. If Dark Reunion had their way, they'd have kept my soul in stasis and brought it out once a year until they found the kid, but obviously, it didn't go their way."

"But…" Shun trailed off, looking around nervously as if waiting to be shot down. Natsuko smiled and passed him another strawberry mochi.

"Go ahead, Kaidoh-kun. You may not realize it, but you have a lot of insight into Dark Reunion. Even your strangest ideas have some basis in truth."

Considering some of the crazy things Shun had spouted over the years, Kusuo really, _really_ hoped that wasn't true.

"Hey, old man." Nendou's voice made almost everyone jump; even Kusuo had forgotten he was there even though they were sitting right next to each other. Kuwabara leveled a curious expression on Nendou, his eyebrow raised.

"You got something to say, punk?"

"Yeah." Nendou stared Kuwabara down across the table, an unusually serious frown on his lips. "Who are you anyway?"

Everyone fell over.

"Seriously, Nendou?!" Shun leaped to his feet, gesturing wildly with one pointing finger. "Weren't you paying attention at all?" He pointed at Kuwabara. "That's God, idiot! God!"

"I'm not God," Kuwabara corrected, but everyone ignored him.

"Huh…" Nendou folded his arms and tilted his head as he stared more intently at Kuwabara. "Weird. I thought he was me."

Natsuko giggled and set her hand over Nendou's, patting it. "He's only a little bit you. Or maybe you're a little bit him? I'm not entirely certain how it works. You were born after Otou-sama, yes, but He shattered His soul eons ago, and the shards were said to go immediately to their new hosts, so perhaps it depends on whose soul existed first?"

"Whoa, wait, hold on!" Kuboyasu held up his hands to signal a 'time-out'. "You're not saying what I think you're saying, right? Because if you're saying what I think you're saying then please, _please_ don't say it."

"Say what?" Natsuko smiled, and it almost, _almost_, looked a little bit evil. "That Nendou-kun also has a piece of Izanagi-O's soul?"

All five boys stared. "Offu…"

"Huh." Kuwabara scratched the back of his head, eyeing Nendou contemplatively. "Does that make us brothers or something?"

"No!" Natsuko blushed under the sudden, intense focus of seven pairs of eyes. She coughed lightly. "No, Otou-sama; you are not brothers. You only share part of a very, very old soul."

Suspicion was starting to darken Kuwabara's expression as he stared at his daughter, who'd taken on the uncomfortable guise of a guilty teen trying to look innocent. "Natsu, you don't _like_ this guy?"

A faint blush dusted her cheeks, and Natsuko refused to look at him. Kuwabara growled, half standing, but Yamato waved him down.

"Easy, Kazu-ji! Remember what we're up against; you can kill him when we're done with him."

Kuwabara shot his niece a dark glare but sat back down anyway. "Tell us what you know, Natsuko, then go help your mother with Yukito."

Natsu winced just slightly—_Probably his use of their full names; I'd react the same way if Kaa-san ever called me 'Kusuo'_—and nodded. "Hai, Otou-sama."

Straightening up, she settled both hands in her lap and focused solely on her father. "I noticed as soon as I saw him that Nendou-san had an unusually powerful aura, but I can't read his emotions, so I couldn't get a fix on the cause. I looked closer, pressed his mind, his mental shields were amazing, but didn't feel _practiced_. They felt natural; like yours, Otou-sama. And now that the two of you are in the same room, the similarity is undeniable. Nendou-san's is not as overwhelming as yours, Otou-sama, but it has the same look and presence."

Kuwabara nodded. "I see…"

Kusuo stared. Nendou had mental shields? All these years, Kusuo thought he couldn't read the idiot's mind because he was an idiot. He never guessed that it was possible for someone to shield their thoughts from a telepath as strong as he had been, whether naturally or otherwise.

_That's it; that's how Dark Reunion is hiding from me and why I've never heard of them before. Their members know how to shield their minds._

Kusuo shuddered at the thought that, all his life, there were people in the world—who knew how many—walking around being completely unpredictable. Who knew what they were doing or what they wanted? His only consolation was that he'd never met any of them. If he had, then they would have stood out to him as obviously as Nendou did.

"Does that mean Kusuo has a piece of Izanagi-O too?" Shun asked, his eyes wide with a mixture of jealousy and awe. "Aiura-san said his aura is huge."

Natsuko nodded, her sightless eyes turning to Kusuo. "It probably was. It is still quite impressive, with a steady core, but nothing beyond what one would expect from a minor psychic or untrained Reborn." She looked at Shun. "Honestly, I expected it to look more like yours. Sealed, your powers barely extend beyond your body—like what could be expected from a chipmunk or a squirrel—but there are small flares every now and then that show a great deal of suppressed potential." Natsuko looked back to Kusuo with a small frown. "Either way, we will need to remove the seals that have been placed upon you both as your powers will be vital to the coming fight."

Shun trembled at her words, but it was impossible to tell if he was terrified or ecstatic.

"But no." Natsuko shook her head, going back to the original question. "Izanagi-O's soul-shards have a very specific signature; one that Saiki-san's does not match. He is merely a very powerful Reborn Psychic." Her expression took on a shadow of pity. "Or was, as the case now stands."

Kusuo sipped his coffee to hide a scowl.

Kuwabara snorted. "It ain't gone. Power like that doesn't just vanish. Take it from someone who knows."

"It didn't vanish; my brother made a device to seal it away."

"Which means it's still in there, and not even buried very far." Kuwabara nodded. "That's good."

Kuboyasu leaned forward with interest. "So you can break the seal?"

"Sure." Kuwabara grinned, his dark eyes alight with amusement. "We'll just beat it out of him."

* * *

Kaliea: It's my birthday! Yay! That said, I figured I'd update today until waiting to tomorrow :D Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading; don't forget to review!


	16. Psychics, Ghosts, and Apparitions

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

_Damn you, Kusuke. Whether you orchestrated this or not—and I don't doubt you could have—I'm blaming this all on you._

_What? You don't think it's fair for me to pin this on my brother just because I made the decision to seal my powers myself? Well it is. Kusuke is always doing stupid stuff and only telling me half the details; he's the dumbest genius in the world._

_Yare, yare._

_Anyway, you'll probably be curious to learn the Kuwabaras aren't the only occupants of the temple. Apparently, people come here from all over the world to receive psychic training in every discipline. Telekinesis, invisibility, telepathy, psychic projection, teleportation, changeling; every ability I had—and dozens more I probably had but never got around to discovering—was represented. The only difference between them and me is most of the people here only have one power while I had them all. Or at least most._

_The guys are in awe, but I've seen it all before. Well, more accurately, I've **done** it all before. Either way, it's nothing new._

_At least, it shouldn't be anything new. But if there's anything I've learned in the last week, it's that nothing is what I expect it to be anymore._

* * *

**Psychics, Ghosts, and Apparitions**

"Most of the psychics here are like your friends; low- to mid-level New Psychics who tripped over their powers by accident and weren't sure what to do or how to handle them," Yamato said around the lollipop in her mouth as she led the way through the enormous temple compound, gesturing right and left at the different buildings as they passed. Most looked the same—dojos with square, sloped roofs topped by copper shingles. The storm doors and shoji screens were pushed aside to reveal square rooms populated by the strangest assortment of people Kusuo had ever seen. They had the crazy hair styles and colors now common to the world thanks to Kusuo's mind control, and everyone was dressed in the same white yukata blue hakama uniform, but that was where the similarities ended.

Tall, bulky men worked side-by-side with tiny, pixie-esk women in buildings where they practiced martial arts as well as others where they were meditating or sitting cross-legged being lectured. Some looked older than his grandfather while others looked barely old enough to walk on their own. There were glasses wearers of all types from the cool, student council president type to the nerdy, twin-braided with freckles type. Businessmen and yankees—both with slicked back hair but with obvious social differences—stood side-by-side with blue-skinned, horned beasts with one eye, fanged women, tailed toddlers, yellow giants.

_What the hell_?

Shun stopped to gape openly at a man the size of a house with gray-marbled skin and tusks. Kusuo grabbed Shun's arm as he strode passed, dragging the blunet behind him. Shun stumbled a few steps before turning his attention back to Yamato who kept walking and talking like the craziness happening inside the various dojos was normal.

"Hey, Kami-girl." Kuboyasu picked up his pace so he strode along beside Yamato. She looked over at him, visibly annoyed at having her unheard monologue interrupted.

"What?"

"The hell is with all these freaky people? They get into some crazy nuclear accident or something?"

Yamato's brow furrowed, and she shifted her lollipop from one side of her mouth to the other. "You really are a dumb-shit, aren't you?"

Kuboyasu's yankee vein popped. "Oi—"

"They're students here to learn their powers. Psychics and low-level apparitions, mostly. Ghosts like to hang around every now and then if they're not ready to cross over, but they usually let me ferry them after a few days. We also have some demons in the mix, but they usually prefer to keep to themselves. It doesn't help that most demons have a fondness for human flesh, and that sort of shit don't fly here." Yamato gestured lazily with one hand as if to encompass the entire compound.

"There was a raid about five years back when a couple B-rank assholes thought they could make trouble. They put in a pretty good show, though they were outnumbered, so no one died in the five minutes or so it took for Kazu-ji to get one of his feelings, pinpoint it, and cut his way over. You don't want to know about the mess that followed. To this day, it makes _Yu-ji_ shudder." Yamato shook her head, a small, sardonic smile on her lips, though the effect was somewhat ruined by her lollipop. "After that, Natsu and her family moved into the compound full-time and there haven't been any problems since. Not even S-class are dumb enough to mess with Kazu-ji anymore. He may be human, but there are only about six people in any world stronger than him, and they're all related to us by either blood or brotherhood."

Hairo cleared his throat. "Ah…Yamato-san? As much as we appreciate you telling us all this, I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say we have no idea what you're talking about."

Yamato snorted. "No shit, Sherlock. If you did, I wouldn't have to tell you about it, would I?"

Uncertain looks were traded with annoyed scowls as the five boys glanced at one another. Nendou, of course, looked as content and carefree as ever, but Shun was about ready to pass out and Kuboyasu to explode.

_Yare, yare. That leaves Hairo and me as the levelheaded ones._

"Okay, here's the guest lockers." Yamato stopped at the porch of a smaller building bisected down the middle with 'male' written in kanji on the left door and 'female' written in kanji on the right. Hairo tilted his head in confusion.

"Why male and female?"

"Cause apparitions aren't human, and they don't like being lumped in with us." Yamato turned on her heel and waved dismissively over her shoulder. "Find uniforms that fit and get changed. We only have a few more hours until school is out and ya'll end up missed by family or whatever. Pretty sure Yu-ji went to Demon World a few days back to help prep for the tournament, but I'll let Dad know you're here and he'll find out where Yu-ji is so he can come assess you."

The boys stared dumbly after her as she made her way back through the angled path leading to the temple's main house. She ran into a lean man with shaggy red hair, pointy ears, and a single horn on his forehead on her way and gleefully slapped him on the butt. The man yelped, jumped straight into the air, and kept going until he disappeared from view with a twinkle.

"The fuck?" Kuboyasu said, and that about summed it up.

#

It didn't take long to change, and the group did so in silence. That wasn't unusual for Kusuo, who rarely said anything anyway, but for the likes of Shun, Nendou, and Hairo, the lengthy silence was unnatural and unnerving. Kusuo forced himself not to shoot askance glances their way and instead focused on changing out his school uniform for the dojo uniform he'd pulled off the well-organized shelf arranged by size and labeled for human use. The fabric was soft and light but undeniably foreign as he slipped the white yukata up his arms and arranged the folds before tying the robe closed with a koshi himo.

Two months ago, Kusuo never would have guessed that the world was so unbelievably crazy, and he'd been an all-powerful, mind-reading psychic at the time. How had all of this gone unnoticed his whole life? He'd known about ghosts, of course, what with Nendou's crazy dad and Toritsuka's medium thing, but even that was a relatively recent discovery. And now there was all this nonsense about demons and apparitions—whatever those were—and who knew what else.

_And what did she mean by the ghosts let her ferry them after a day or two_?

There was so much Kusuo didn't know anymore, and he didn't realize how much it would bother him to be so wholly and completely in the dark. _Yare, yare. This would never have happened with telepathy_…

It took a bit of finagling for Kusuo to get his obi belt tied by himself. Since he rarely wore yukata, and hadn't worn one at all since getting rid of his powers, he wasn't used to the manual holding, twisting, knotting process. Still, it only took about five minutes to get the belt situated properly on his hips with a passable knot at the small of his back. It may not be the prettiest bow ever, but he gave it a few, sharp tugs and it didn't fall apart, which is all that mattered. Besides, the hakama would cover it up anyway.

Out of everyone else, Hairo and, surprisingly, Nendou had the least amount of trouble getting dressed on their own. As expected, Hairo had rolled up the yukata sleeves to bare his arms and was currently working through a series of lunges to get 'the feel' of the borrowed clothing. Nendou had finished first and decided now was a good time to nap, so he was laying on the locker room floor with his head propped on his right hand as he snored.

Kuboyasu was like Kusuo, a bit out of practice but overall successful, while Shun, somehow, managed to tie himself up like a simpering sub. The left sleeve of his yukata had slid off his shoulder, exposing an indecent amount of his chest and stomach—which was surprisingly well muscled considering his pathetic strength and martial prowess—and a humiliated flush darkened his cheeks beneath his teary eyes. All he needed were a few shojo bubbles and he'd be ready for a thorough ravishing. Good thing Yumehara wasn't there; she could very well have bled out through her nose. Kusuo sighed and moved to help him out.

"Yare, yare," Kusuo said as he worked the tangled knot around Shun's wrists. "How did you get yourself into this?"

Shun's answer was muffled around the thin, koshi himo he'd somehow gagged himself with. He wriggled and twisted, trying to get himself loose as Kusuo worked, but he was only making it worse. Kusuo frowned.

"Stop moving."

"I've got him!" Hairo jumped into a knee-slide mid-lunge and pressed his hands down on Shun's shoulders, but that seemed to make him panic. He kicked out, but his legs were bound together so his whole body writhed like a worm on the sidewalk.

"Calm down, Shun." Kuboyasu grasped Shun's ankles and stretched him out so he couldn't keep flailing. "You're only making things worse for yourself."

"Yeah, Kaidoh! Take it like a man! Yosh!" Hairo flashed Kusuo a thumbs up and a wink. "Take your time, Kusuo. We'll keep him down."

"Well that's a hell of a thing to walk in on."

Kusuo jumped at the unexpected voice, accidentally yanking the wound obi tighter against Shun's ribs. He squawked behind his accidental gag and started turning blue from lack of air. A frantic scramble had the belt loosened enough for Shun to breathe before Kusuo turned around to glare at the intruder. The man was about average height with slicked back hair and laughing brown eyes. He stood in the doorway with his shoulder on the jam, arms crossed over his chest, and wore jeans and a t-shirt instead of the temple uniform. He was grinning at them behind a pair of aviator sunglasses that he pulled down just enough to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively.

"Don't mind me, boys. I can wait outside."

Kusuo sighed. "Yare, yare."

The man snickered but didn't leave as Kusuo did his best to unbind Shun as quickly and painlessly as possible. It took about ten minutes—which should have been impossible, but this was _Shun_ after all—but eventually, Shun was unbound and back on his feet. Kuboyasu fixed the folds of Shun's yukata while Kusuo smoothed out the wrinkled obi before passing it to Hairo who had the thing wrapped, tucked, and tied in less than a minute.

"Think you can step into your hakama without falling through a black hole?" Kuboyasu smiked as he held the hakama out. Shun scowled, still glowing pink, and snatched the garment out of his friend's hands.

"I'm fine." He hurriedly stepped into the hakama and fumbled the ties, but in the end, he was able to get them on without further incident. Kuboyasu patted Shun's head like a newly trained puppy.

"Good job, Shun."

Shun sniffled, still teary as he glared at his friends. "I hate you all."

The unknown man clapped, drawing the boys' attention, before wiping a pretend tear from beneath his glasses. "Teamwork; is there anything more beautiful?"

Kuboyasu stepped forward, standing at his full height to bear down on this unknown man with his full yankee persona—exaggerated scowl, shadowed face, bulging vein; the works. "You got something to say, punk? Eh?"

The guy wasn't the least bit intimidated. Instead, he pulled his glasses off with a laugh and reached up to pat Kuboyasu's shoulder while simultaneously pushing him aside.

"Easy, killer. I'm one of the good guys." He waved the hand still holding his glasses as the other was tucked casually into his pocket. "Yo. Name's Urameshi Yusuke, but you probably know me as Yu-ji, thanks to Nadi. She has the worst habit of not using people's full names, even with strangers."

Sneering, Kuboyasu looked Urameshi up and down. "You're going to train us? You're almost as scrawny as Shun!"

"Hey, Aren! That's mean!"

"Calm down, mullet boy." Urameshi grinned and laughed as Kuboyasu sputtered with indignant shock. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover'? You may not think I look like much, but trust me; I've got it where it counts."

Urameshi looked the boys over for a moment, his eyes lingering longest on Nendou—who was still snoring away—before he shook his head with a snort. "The new generation sure is shit, huh? Well." He turned on his heel and waved them after him. "Might as well get started. Kick your friend and follow me."

Nendou was easy to rouse, though he complained a bit at first before he realized they were on the move. Kusuo followed Urameshi out first and was surprised to find a row of zori sandals waiting just below the engawa porch. He stepped into the pair that looked closest to his size and continued walking. The other guys followed with varying degrees of enthusiasm with Shun the most nervous and Hairo, of course, the most excited. Nendou seemed perfectly calm as he trailed the pack with both arms folded behind his head as he watched that clouds pass over head.

"Sure is a nice day, huh? We should go get ramen when we're done; we can go to one of those carts so we can enjoy the sunshine. There's supposed to be a good one under the train tracks in the Kaidan area."

Shun sputtered. "You expect us to go all the way to Adachi for ramen? Are you nuts?"

Nendou shrugged. "Ramen is ramen."

"What does that even _mean_?"

"If you boys are done flirting back there, we're here." Urameshi stepped out of his tennis shoes and onto the engawa of an empty dojo with tightly closed doors and windows. Carefully painted ofuda charms were attached to every post and door of the dojo. The ones on the engawa posts seemed to be wards while the ones on the doors and windows said something about sealing. Unfortunately, the handwriting was terrible; nearly impossible to read.

Urameshi bit his thumb until it bled, and Shun yelped.

"Why would you do that, you idiot?"

Amusement lifted Urameshi's eyebrows as he smeared his blood across two of the ofuda on either side of a door seam. "You really should be careful who you're calling names, kid. Not everyone with my power level is as easy going as I am."

The ofuda started glowing, the color turning redder and brighter until they burst into flames and fell away in a sprinkle of ash. Urameshi slid the doors open and motioned the boys inside.

"After you."

Hesitance fell over the group like a physical weight. Kusuo was only just beginning to understand what they had gotten themselves into, and he suspected that the others weren't far behind him, if at all. The casual use of psychic power in this compound bordered on magic, even for Kusuo, and there was so much he didn't understand about how and why it worked that every passive display set him on edge. It was one thing to be able to do stuff like this himself but watching others do it was beyond surreal. It was almost terrifying.

"You gonna stand there all day or what? I have a wife and kids I want to get home to before the sun sets, so if you don't _mind_."

Another round of uncertain glances went through the group before Nendou shrugged and barreled forward. Unwilling to be shown up by their resident idiot, the rest reluctantly followed with Shun dragging his feet as the last one in.

"Awesome." Urameshi slid the door closed behind them and pulled another ofuda from his pocked that he slapped right onto the seam of the doors. It glowed a bright yellow-white for a moment before fading back to its normal, dun appearance. "That's to keep us hidden from scryers and clairvoyance, just in case you're wondering. Hell if I know how it works, but Nadi says it does, so it does."

He turned on them, hands on his hips, and gave them all an appraising once over. He frowned. "Not much for aura on you two." He pointed at Kusuo and Shun. "But the rest of you are pretty interesting. Nadi said I'm supposed to break the seals on your powers or something, but there's not much too that other than brute force. When the body is in danger, the spirit flares to compensate. For guys like us, that means a spike in spirit energy that is usually strong enough to puncture seals. Once there's a hole, Nadi and Shizuru can figure out how to peal the rest of it apart."

Urameshi started rolling his shoulders one at a time to loosen up. "We'll spar one on one to give me a measure of where you're at. Then, when you go home, I'll give your numbers to Kuwabara and he'll work up a regiment for you all during the summer. We don't have much time before the big showdown, but there's just enough for a decent power-up if you're diligent. It'll suck like hell, but you'll thank us later."

Kusuo had no idea what to say to any of that, so he stayed silent. Apparently, the others felt the same because the silence reined.

"Awesome," Urameshi said again. He looked at Kusuo while stretching his legs and hips. "You're supposed to be the big cheese, right? Saiki Kunio or something; former psychic who was hell'a OP before you screwed it up. Good job there. In theory, it should be easier to break you than the other one, so we'll start with you."

Urameshi finished stretching out and took up a comfortable posture that was far too casual and relaxed to be any sort of fighting stance. He gestured at Kusuo with his head. "C'mon then. Try and hit me."

A foreign sensation bubbled up inside Kusuo's stomach, scorching his heart from below. He'd been frustrated before, of course, but because of his telepathy and empathy, the feeling rarely lasted longer than the few seconds it took to get a read on the cause of such an emotion (except Nendou, who he couldn't read at all). Naturally, his frustration had grown just a bit since giving up his powers, but he still managed to let it go pretty quickly. Until today. From the moment Yamato stepped into classroom 3-1, Kusuo had felt nothing but an increasing level of frustration, and right now, that feeling had reached its boiling point, tipping Kusuo over the edge. So while he may not recognize the emotion burning him up at the moment, he certainly knew what it was.

For the first time in his life, Kusuo was well and truly angry.

He launched himself at Urameshi without warning, fists raised and ready to pummel in the jerk's smug face. He barely got within a foot of the man before he moved so suddenly, Kusuo literally didn't see it. But boy howdy, did he ever feel it.

Urameshi's knee connected solidly with Kusuo's gut, doubling him over, before he drove an elbow down on Kusuo's back just between his shoulder blades. Spikes of pain shot down Kusuo's spine, filling his entire nervous system with lances of white-hot lightning. His fingers and toes tingled as he slammed face-first into the dojo floor, knocking the wind out of him with a sharp gasp.

"Too slow," Urameshi said, glaring down at Kusuo with folded arms.

Despite himself, Kusuo groaned. In his whole life, Kusuo had never felt pain worse than the headaches he occasionally got from his premonitions, so he wasn't the least bit prepared for the pain he now felt. He pressed his forehead hard against the floor and tried to regulate his erratic breathing. His ribs ached, his head ached, his whole effing body ached, and his fingers and toes were twitching from lingering threads of electricity.

He heard his name called out by his friends as he pushed up to his elbows, saw Kuboyasu dart in to attack Urameshi while Hairo hung back as cover and Nendou and Shun dropped to the floor at Kusuo's sides.

"You okay, buddy?" Nendou eased Kusuo to his knees as he shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears.

"I'm fine," Kusuo said, quickly, remembering that mortifying incident between Nendou and Takahashi at the beginning of their first round of Year 2. _Do **not** start hitting me_.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kuboyasu went flying over their heads. He tumbled across the dojo floor and hit the back wall in a groaning lump.

"Nice try, rookie, but I fought better than you when I was fourteen, and half of those weren't even demons." Urameshi's smirk had turned dark and there was a nostalgic gleam in his eyes that made Kusuo's eyes widen as he suppressed a shudder.

Even without his powers, Kusuo considered himself a good judge of character, and he'd run into enough war veterans during his five junior year trips to Okinawa to tell the difference between the soldiers who were cocky shits and the ones who'd seen things; done things. Looking into the dark, shadowed eyes of Urameshi Yusuke, there was no doubt in Kusuo's mind: Urameshi had seen things.

Urameshi dropped his gaze from Kuboyasu to Kusuo, his amiable grin long gone, and motioned for Kusuo to stand with a jerk of his head.

"Get up and go again, Saiki. And the next time you go down, you better not stay down because I'm done playing fair."

Motioning his friends back, Kusuo shoved aside his pain and took a stance. "I can do this all day."

Urameshi grinned. "Good."

* * *

Kaliea: Training montage! Also, double-update with an announcement to follow!


	17. Exceptions

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Being ordinary sucks._

* * *

**Exceptions**

Kusuo lay spread-eagle on the dojo floor, panting, sweating, aching, and exhausted. His friends weren't much better, if at all. Like Kusuo, Kuboyasu was on his back, groaning into the tatami mat floor, while Hairo was jackknifed with this face and knees on the floor and his bare butt in the air after a particularly enthusiastic judo throw from Urameshi ripped his hakama cords. Shun was also face down, but he lay straight as a board with his head turned to the side. His eyes were rolled back and he was foaming from the mouth from a love-tap to his solar plexus.

Somehow, inconceivably, Nendou was not only still conscious, he was still going. Nendou flowed in and out like water sliding soundlessly around a rock. He didn't try to land a hit on Urameshi, even he wasn't dumb enough to think he could, but he wasn't being hit either. From his position on the ground, Kusuo could see Urameshi grinning from ear to ear as he tried his hardest to hit Nendou anywhere. It had almost become a game and the only way to win was for Nendou to lose.

Urameshi ducked and swept at Nendou's legs but he jumped backward, neatly flipping over in a show of gymnastics proficiency that would have had a professional gymnast dropping his jaw. Unfortunately, over the last hour, Urameshi had grown increasingly accustomed to Nendou's insane athleticism and managed to put himself at just the right place as Nendou landed. He threw a punch that scraped through Nendou's guard as he threw up his crossed arms and struck the teen squarely in the chest. Nendou flew across the room and slammed against the back wall of the dojo with a riotous tremor and a resounding crack. He slid to the floor, blinking wildly, and his face split into a monster grin.

"Dude! That was _awesome_!"

Urameshi's eyes went wide in surprise, then he threw his head back and laughed. "Oh man! I can't even say when the last time was I had so much trouble with a human. Well, a human other than Kuwabara. That guy's a freaking tank. But then, you don't seem too far behind."

Crossing the dojo—and stepping over Kusuo and his prone friends like they weren't even there—Urameshi stopped in front of Nendou and offered his hand. Nendou grasped it with a grin and let Urameshi pull him to his feet with so much ease, it almost looked like Nendou had levitated.

Urameshi patted Nendou's shoulder. "Your Origin must have had one hell of a crazy-ass power, Kid. I could barely see you, never mind _touch_ you."

Nendou canted his head. "What's an Origin?"

"Ah, right. You're all in the dark." Urameshi tucked his hands into his jean pockets and settled into a casual slump. "Your Origin is the person your soul was before you died and came here to become Reborn. We don't know much about them other than they existed; Kuwabara's tried to get a better read on the situation, but he says someone's blocking his clairvoyance. And let me tell you, someone who can block _that_ guy has got to be scary as shit, so we haven't tried to do much more digging. He says we'll find out when She's ready. Whatever the hell that means."

Stepping away from Nendou, Urameshi nudged the four downed boys in the ribs with his bare toes. Kuboyasu and Hairo groaned, but Shun just gurgled unresponsively. Kusuo managed to shimmy away, which got him a respectful eyebrow raise, but otherwise, Urameshi was very unimpressed.

"All right, kiddies. That's all for today. Kaidoh, you didn't do too badly. Your aura spiked a few times, pushing at the edges of your seal. Saiki." Urameshi's brown eyes locked with Kusuo's as he frowned. "Are you _sure_ you have a seal?"

Kusuo's brow furrowed, his chest heaving a little less as his body recovered from the beating he took. "Why?"

Urameshi shrugged, hands still comfortable in his pockets. "Just saying you didn't react the way I expected. Your aura spiked, sure, but it spiked the way an ordinary person's does when put into a dangerous situation. You had sharp flares when you were surprised that kept spiking when you channeled your emotions into your attack. It's powerful, no doubt, and there's definitely room for improvement, but it doesn't cut off the way Kaidoh's does."

Kaidoh sat up, eyes glimmering, with his hand in the air like an elementary schooler as if he hadn't just been blacked out on the ground. "I don't understand what you mean. How does my aura cut off?"

Urameshi sighed and looked around for a bare patch of wall. He sat down with his back to it, legs in lotus, and rested his elbows on his knees. "Okay, so, preface, I'm not the best guy to go to for an explanation. It's all hocus-pocus, mumbo-jumbo to me, and trust me, granny's rolling in her grave at that admission, but I'll do my best."

By now, Kaidoh had successfully roused both Kuboyasu and Hairo and all five boys worked their way to their knees so they could sit in seiza across from their lackadaisical teacher. Urameshi had his eyes closed and lips pursed in concentration as he thought. The boys shared a quizzical glance between them but stayed silent and waited.

"Hmmmm…Okay. I think I've got something." Urameshi opened his eyes and stared the five boys down. "Everyone—human, demon, apparition, whatever—is born with two types of energy, life energy and spirit energy. Life energy is exactly the way it sounds; it's the energy your body naturally creates in order to keep you alive. Life energy is what makes you able to think, makes your heart beat, makes your blood turn oxygen into carbon monoxide—"

"Carbon dioxide," Hairo, Shun, and Kuboyasu corrected.

"What_ever_. Do I look like I care? Anyway, life energy is the thing that makes life possible. The other energy is reiki, spirit energy. Now, like life energy, spirit energy is pretty self-explanatory; it's the strength and power possessed by a person's soul. Most people have pretty average levels of spirit energy." He pointed at Shun. "Not much different from the way yours looks when sealed. The combination of a person's life and spirit energies is what creates a person's aura. The things they like, the environments they grew up in, personality quirks, etc. all effect the way someone's aura looks.

"Now, when your spirit and life energy are both strong and whatever, they kind of give each other a boost; sort of like how the battery in a car creates the spark that gets the engine going." Urameshi held his hand out as little lances of electricity seemed to spark across his palm. Everyone but Kusuo leaned in for a closer look; fascinated. "The stronger the spark, the bigger the explosion, but once you learn how to control the spark, or life energy, you can learn how to control your spirit energy. And once you have control of your spirit energy…"

The sparks of power seemed to explode into a glowing, pulsing sphere of blue-white light that hovered docilely over the center of Urameshi's palm.

"Whoa!"

"Oh wow! That's so neat, Guy!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!"

"Holy shit, is this for real?!"

Urameshi smirked, obviously feeding off their enthusiasm. "That's nothing. With really _good_ control…" He shifted his hand into a gun and the glowing ball migrated to the tip of his right index finger. "Bang."

The glowing ball shot out like a bullet and slammed into one of the small statues lining the dojo shrine. The statue exploded in a spray of stone shrapnel.

"Whoa!"

"Oh wow! That's so neat, Guy!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!"

"Holy shit, is this for real?!"

Urameshi smirked and blew across the tip of his finger as if it were a smoking gun. "And that's only the beginning."

The dojo door slammed open, the ofuda ripping right down the middle, and everyone jumped; even Kusuo and Urameshi. All six whirled around to find Yamato Nadeshiko standing in the door frame, arms still wide as she braced herself between the sliding doors. She was glaring at her uncle as aura rose off her like wisps of smoke, raising her long hair in an artificial wind that would give Medusa's writhing snakes a run for their money in creepiness. The entire scene would have been much scarier if she didn't still have that stupid lollipop.

"Yu-ji," Yamato said with so much false sweetness, Kusuo's spine snapped straight of its own accord. His only consolation was the other guys straightened as well; even Urameshi. "I'm absolutely certain that surge of reiki I felt on my way here wasn't a spirit gun going off in my specially created dojo." Her expression sharpened to a poisoned glare. "Right?"

Urameshi tucked his hand behind his back as if it was a real gun and laughed nervously. "No, no, no, no, no! Of course not! Would I do something so foolish? Ahahahahaha! Um, wow! Look at the time!"

He looked down at his left wrist, which had no watch, and shook his head. "Well damn; as much as I'd like to stay, Keiko's gonna need help with the dinner rush soon."

Urameshi jumped to his feet and shoved his right hand into his pocket while offering the boys a two fingered wave with his left. "All right, well, make sure you say your good-byes to your families this weekend and we'll see you bright and early on Monday!"

He ruffled Yamato's now limp hair on his way out, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head at her unrelenting glare.

"Ja, Nadi. Suki desu yo!" He took off running without a backward glance leaving Yamato and the boys alone.

Yamato scowled at her uncle as he disappeared into the temple maze. "Pussy."

Hairo and Shun choked; they obviously hadn't expected that, though Kusuo couldn't imagine why. Despite her name, Yamato was hardly the paragon of feminine subtly and grace. Actually, she probably overcompensating _because_ of her name.

"So." She spun on the boys with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. "I'm guessing by the destroyed Buddha that Yu-ji was telling you about the different energies?"

Four obedient nods. Yamato frowned as the silence stretched, then snapped, "And?"

The five boys exchanged varying degrees of uncertain glances before Hairo shrugged and spoke up. "Life energy powers the body, spirit energy powers the soul."

"And if you have enough of both," Shun chimed in like an eager puppy. "You can make them explode!"

Yamato grunted and stepped into the dojo, sliding the doors closed behind her back. "More or less. Did he get to psychic energy yet?"

Hairo shook his head. "Not yet."

"Hn. Probably for the best. Yu-ji isn't a psychic himself, so he doesn't really get it." Yamato took over her uncle's place against the wall and sat cross-legged. Fortunately, she'd changed out of her school uniform into a yukata and hakama set like the boys, so he wasn't flashing them. Except her hakama were red instead of blue, and with her low ponytail, she looked like a miko. Thinking about it a little more, Kusuo realized she probably was one.

"Okay, so, recap." Yamato sat straight-backed with her palms settled on the balls of her knees as she looked the boys over. "Life energy comes from the body; spirit energy comes from the soul. Any guesses where psychic energy comes from?"

Shun raised a tentative hand. "Um…the heart?"

Yamato pinned him with a flat stare, but Kusuo jumped in before she could respond with her usual snark.

"The mind."

"Exactly." Yamato scrunched her face at Shun in a quick display of disgust before switching her attention to the group at large. "Like life and spirit energy, mental energy exists within everyone, but very few people have enough to actually use it. Manifesting psychic powers means that the user has an abundance of all three energies; however, the power levels are rarely perfectly aligned. People with stronger mental energy than body or life energy have the spark needed to become psychics. Their manifested powers vary widely and are usually shaped by their personal aura. For example, someone who is good at sports will probably manifest a physical power, like super-speed or strength, while someone who is better a book learning might get a power that lets them absorb and process large amounts of data."

Kusuo nodded to himself, thinking of Akechi. The guy couldn't fight to save his life, but he had the greatest mental processing power Kusuo had ever heard of, beyond even himself at his psychic peak.

"There are, however, exceptions." Yamato raised a hand and pressed it over her heart. "I have an unusual amount of all three energies; spirit because of my dad, mental because of my mom, and life because I'm a badass. But even then, spirit and mental are my strongest energies. I can look at a person and read their future like your blonde gyaru friend, except I can see dozens, hundreds, _millions_ of different possibilities while she only sees the most likely at that specific moment."

Yamato shifted her lollipop and eyed down the boy's unintended line from Nendou on the right to Hairo on the left. "The five of you are strongest in your spiritual and life energies—especially so in spirit energy, which is probably because you're all Reborn. Most of you also have a pretty balanced level of mental energy, too. Not enough to project psychic powers, but more than enough to make you smarter than average. Nendou is the only real exception but that's only because he has more mental energy than the rest of you. He isn't as dumb as you probably expect. He's just smart in different ways."

She turned her attention to Nendou who met her purposeful stare with a blank, happy expression. "You're very good at reading people, aren't you? You know when they're happy or sad, confused or scared. When they're hiding something or if they are justified in keeping their secrets." She tilted her head to the left and Nendou mirrored her. "You're an empath. And a pretty powerful one at that."

Nendou canted his head in confusion and shrugged. "I don't know about all that, but people are people and they got the right to be their own type of people as long as they don't hurt nothing. None of my business what kind of people they want to be."

"I think I understand now why Natsu's so taken with you." Yamato cracked a genuine smile. "The world would be a much better place if there were more people like you, Nendou Riki."

Yamato shook her head and her usual half-glare settled back over her face. "But enough sentimental shit. Yu-ji filled me in on his way to the gate, so I know your strengths and weaknesses pretty well. I'll draw up a training chart for each of you to start on Monday, so you'd better get your shit together over the weekend. I don't care what you have to tell your parents, if you want a chance to survive what's coming, you'll be at the school bright and early Monday morning."

Shun's jaw snapped closed and he looked away, scratching his flushed cheek. His mother probably had plans for him to attend summer cram school. Yamato waved them off.

"Go shower, you stink. After you're changed, you can meet up with Kazu-ji at the main house. He'll cut you a path home." She pointed at Kusuo. "You hang back. I have some words."

Kusuo almost, _almost_, rolled his eyes. _When do you ever **not** have words_? Still, he did as bid and stayed put while his groaning friends forced themselves to their feet and meandered out the door. Nendou led the pack, practically bouncing with unburned energy. Kusuo grew even more exhausted just looking at him.

Once the guys were gone, closing the door behind them, Yamato stepped forward to stand directly over Kusuo's prone form. She bent over to get a bit closer, her low ponytail falling over her shoulder, and Kusuo noticed—in a purely clinical way—that Yamato actually was very pretty when she wasn't talking. Her honey-brown eyes were almost gold and the rich, chestnut color of her hair looked almost black in the dim dojo lighting. If her cousin Natsuko hadn't come to PK Academy as well, Kusuo could easily see the school dividing down the middle in a bloody holy war between Yamato and Teruhashi as the two factions fought to the death over which girl was God's true Chosen Angel.

_Thank goodness for small favors_. Having Natsuko around would be a pain, no doubt, but at least it would stop Teruhashi and Yamato from becoming an even bigger pain.

"Oi." Yamato snapped her finger in front of Kusuo's face with a frown. "Are you even listening?"

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow. "How can I listen if you're not saying anything?"

"Smart ass," Yamato snarled around her lollipop as her frown deepened to a scowl. "Sit the hell up; I need to run some tests."

Kusuo took half a second to debate whether it would be worth the extra pain to be belligerent or if he should just comply. He decided to comply; but only just.

Sitting up in a lotus position, Kusuo suppressed a pained groan as his entire body ached in protest. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been in so much pain, but he had a strong suspicion the answer was 'never'. Still, at least he wasn't as bad as Shun; the poor guy had been literally dragged from the dojo by Kuboyasu on one side and Hairo on the other.

"What sort of tests?" Kusuo asked as Yamato took a seat directly in front of him. She was so close, that her knees almost touched his own.

"Oh, you know." She shrugged. "A bit of history, English comprehension, some math."

Kusuo offered her a deadpanned expression that Yamato returned with an added eye roll.

"The hell kind of tests do you think? Yu-ji said your power doesn't feel sealed, so I want to make sure you didn't screw something up." She held out her hands, palms up. "Hands. But don't press them into mine; let them hover a few centimeters. It should be just close enough to pass warmth between us."

He did as requested with little hesitation. Better to get it over with sooner than later.

Yamato closed her eyes and hummed softly, her fingers occasionally twitching upward to tap against his palm in a sporadic pattern. Her expression grew progressively stormier as frustration and disbelief warred across her face.

_That's probably not a good sign_…

Sweat beaded her brow, and her breathing grew ever more labored as her tapping grew more frantic. It almost felt like she was trying to reach through his flesh to pluck his veins and muscles like strings on an instrument.

_Did she mistake my hands for a koto or is she having a seizure_?

That was the same moment Kusuo realized Yamato wasn't breathing.

_That's **definitely** not good_.

Should he slap her out of it?

Fortunately, Yamato came to herself with a deep, rasping gasp, though she kept her teeth clenched so she wouldn't accidentally drop, or inhale, her lollipop. Her palms scraped against his as she collapsed backward, and Kusuo came up on one knee—hovering over her with one hand on the ground—to make sure she hadn't just died. Not that he would miss her or anything.

_But I really don't want to explain to God why the death of His psycho niece isn't my fault._

She was breathing again—long, deep breaths, which was good. In the middle of drawing a breath, Yamato cracked an eye to meet Kusuo's passively curious gaze.

"Thanks for catching me, Jackass."

_Yare, yare. Could this girl be any more bipolar_?

"Never mind; that's not important." Yamato propped herself up on her elbows and took one last, steadying breath. Her ponytail had come loose, leaving several strands to fall over her face that she pushed aside with her whole hand. "You said your brother made a seal for your powers."

Kusuo nodded even though it wasn't a question.

"How did it work?"

Kusuo shrugged.

"Don't give me that shit! You expect me to believe you're the kind of guy who just takes whatever medicine the doctor prescribes without asking questions?"

Kusuo was absolutely not that kind of guy. He'd made Kusuke explain in excruciating detail exactly what would happen, how, and why if Kusuo put that gross looking thing in his head. The fact that Kusuo understood almost none of it was inconsequential.

_Like I'm about to lose to that idiot by asking questions._

Okay, so it was a little childish, but after the crazy robot cat incident, Kusuo knew that Kusuke wouldn't do anything to actually hurt him. Well, pretty sure…_somewhat_ sure…

_Yare, yare_.

"The explanation was very technical."

Yamato scoffed. "Well, it's good to know you're an idiot. Better to learn that now than later."

Kusuo glared, but she waved him off. "Maa, maa. Keep your pants on."

Sighing, Yamato propped her elbow on her knee and her chin on her fist as she stared Kusuo in the eye. "I just looked at about 1.5 million of your future threads trying to determine the best way to get your powers back, and do you know what I found?"

_You're going to tell me whether I answer or not_.

"In all 1.5 million futures—" _Called it_. "—not one of them showed you getting your psychic powers back."

Kusuo stared. _What_?

"You didn't just seal your powers, Saiki, you made them disappear. And as far as I can tell, they're gone forever."

* * *

Kaliea: So I was originally planning to have Kusuo train to get his powers back, except they wouldn't be as strong as before. But then I got a review from one of my readers that basically said, "It doesn't matter, he'll get his powers back anyway," and I thought, "What if he didn't?" So Kusuo's psychic powers are gone for good, but that doesn't mean he's powerless. He's still stronger, faster, and smarter than the average person and his spirit energy is nothing to scoff at either. Plus, with Yusuke as his mentor, who's to say where Kusuo will end up?

Anyway, on another note, I will be taking a brief hiatus because I'm literally in the middle of moving across the country and I want to get settled in before I pick back up. I also have some commissions I need to finish for my side-job that are due in a week, so that will be my priority for a while. Ideally, I'll pick back up around the middle of August, but I may not update again until September. I appreciate everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story so far. It started as a bit of a joke and a self-challenge, but I'm honestly enjoying every second of this story and I hope you all are as well.

Thank you for reading! And until next time, ja ne!


	18. Answers

**Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

_Okay, so maybe sealing my powers like that was a little rash, but how was I supposed to know I'd need them someday? They were a huge pain; why **wouldn't** I get rid of them? It just figures my powers would be just as big of a pain now that they're gone as they were when I had them. _

_Yare, yare; can nothing in my life be simple?_

_Fortunately, Yamato-san thinks that I can 'level-up'—her words, not mine—with the guys this summer anyway; it just won't be anywhere near the level I had two months ago. Instead, I'll have to try to find my 'niche,' like with Urameshi's Spirit Gun and Natsuko-san's naginata. I honestly have no idea what that niche may be; I've had so many powers for so long that I used so regularly that I couldn't say one power came more naturally to me than another. Not that it matters, I guess. Yamato-san said spirit powers don't manifest the same way psychic powers do. Which means I have to start over from the beginning before working my way back to where I was. And I only have twenty-nine days to do it._

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**Answers**

Kusuo sat on the edge of the dojo's engawa, his bare feet brushing the tops of his sandals as he stared sightlessly ahead. The others were probably done showering now, but he still couldn't bring himself to move. How could he have been so stupid? So selfish?

All he'd wanted was an ordinary life, but all that time, it was having his powers that allowed him to live as normally as he had. Allowed his friends to live as they had, without chaos or oppression. His mere presence kept away any and all those who would do harm to those he cared about (or couldn't care less about). And with a single stroke of thoughtless selfishness, Kusuo had ruined everything.

"Hello, Saiki-san."

Kusuo started at the unexpected voice, his head shooting up. Dressed in the same red and white miko style uniform as her cousin, Kuwabara Natsuko was making her way toward him with a red-tipped, aluminum stick in hand that she tapped along the ground as she took step after tentative step. He stared at that stick for a long moment; he'd legitimately forgotten she was blind. Her sightless red eyes were focused on him with a quiet intensity that made him resist the urge to shift. Did his aura give away how unnerving he found her to be?

"Yes, it does." Natsuko smiled softly. "But your thoughts are more telling than your aura, and that will likely remain the case until you again learn to shield your mind."

Kusuo frowned. _Well, **that's** disconcerting. No wonder the others freaked out when I told them about my telepathy._

"Ah." Natsuko blushed. "I apologize. It is very difficult to turn it off as mine, as was yours, is not a territory-based power."

"Hm." Kusuo's eyes narrowed in on a stone in the center of the walk. Natsuko was coming up on it, and he didn't want her to fall if her stick missed it. Her stick _did_ miss, but she stepped over it anyway.

"Thank you for your assistance, Saiki-san." She made it to the dojo without further incident and groped along the engawa to make sure there was enough space for her to sit beside Kusuo without being pinned between him and the nearby post. She sat with a sigh and slipped her socked feet out of her zori style sandals. A pseudo-comfortable silence settled between them.

"You are wondering why I have come to sit with you."

Kusuo said nothing; why bother when she already had her answers?

"You are conflicted."

_Wow, you must be psychic_.

"No need to be snippy, Saiki-san. I came here to help you, not to mock nor to be mocked."

_Help, huh_? What a strange world Kusuo now lived in that he was the one needing unspoken help instead of offering it.

"Everyone needs help in life, Saiki-san. To accept it when offered is not a weakness; even if you never asked for it in the first place."

Kusuo sighed. "And what exactly are you planning to help me with? Your cousin and I already talked about my powers—they're gone for good—and how I'll have to train to up my spirit energy instead. We made a plan to meet up on Monday morning to spend the summer here, and your father is already waiting to send us back to school. Sorry to say there's nothing left for you to do."

Natsuko frowned, genuine hurt lining her face. "I do _not_ appreciate your condescending tone, Saiki-san; there is no need to be rude. And what help I offer is not physical, it is more…spiritual."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning your aura is in turmoil, and I am here to sooth what uncertainty I can."

_Great; she's going to play shrink_. Personally, Kusuo didn't put much stock in psychobabble, but that was largely because no stranger could ever understand the complex inner workings of his mind. It also didn't help that Kusuo would know exactly what the therapist was thinking regarding diagnosis, disbelief, amusement, or outright boredom, which meant Kusuo would actually be adding to his mental stress by talking to such a person one-on-one. He didn't even want to consider the types of secrets he would inadvertently discover because his counselor was thinking too loud about another person's case during their session.

On the other hand, Kusuo had, for a little while at least, considered the possibility of becoming a psychologist himself. It seemed like a pretty cushy gig for someone who could read thoughts so deep even the patient may not realize they were there. But then Kusuo realized he didn't care enough about other people's problems to listen to them all day every day; he had enough to deal with just from gleaning people's peripheral thoughts. No need for a highly concentrated dose of other people's crazy pills.

Natsuko giggled, pulling Kusuo from his thoughts. "You never say much, but you always have so much to say."

Kusuo looked away, fighting down a mild blush at again being caught lost in pointless thoughts. He really didn't like the idea of someone else rooting around in his mind. He perked up at a sudden thought: would his germanium ring work in reverse?

"Yes, it will."

_Yare, yare._ Kusuo pinned Natsuko with a sideways stare. He definitely needed to make sure he picked up that ring before meeting Teruhashi at the station.

_Oh crap_! Kusuo straightened up, his eyes widening just a bit. _What time is it_?

He scrambled for the phone his parents insisted he carry now that he didn't have telepathy. He lighted the screen at the same moment Natsuko checked hers and said, "16:07. School let out almost an hour ago."

Kusuo stood. _I need to go_.

"Ah! Wait, Saiki-san!" Natsuko pinched the back of Kusuo's yukata in a deceptively strong grip before he could take a single step. He glanced down at her; brow furrowed with annoyance.

_What_?

"You have not allowed me to help you yet."

_I don't **need** help_.

"Maybe not, but someone close to you does. I can feel it radiating from your aura." Natsuko stared deep into Kusuo's magenta eyes, her expression stony. "You are not just any Reborn, Saiki-san. You are special. You came to this world to this place at exactly this time for a reason."

_Oh_? _And what reason is that_?

"You came to protect someone. Someone important to the person you were; so important, you could not live without them, even with a completely different life." Natsuko's grip on his yukata grew weak as her hand began to tremble. "You suffered so much loss, so much pain and anguish over this person. You dedicated your whole life to her, and now, you have finally found her again and for the first time, things are right in this world."

_Her_? Kusuo sighed and rubbed his forehead with one hand. _Let me guess; I came to this world to save Teruhashi-san_.

Natsuko let out a startled laugh. "Oh no, not at all. Teruhashi-san isn't a Reborn, she could not be, so she cannot possibly be the person you came here to protect. In fact, it is quite the other way around."

Kusuo's brow furrowed. _What's that supposed to mean_?

Natsuko smiled mischievously. "It means, Saiki-san, that while Teruhashi-san may believe she is God's gift to the world, she is really only God's gift to you."

His mind went blank. _Offu_.

Natsuko let out another soft, bell-like giggle. "Yes, I thought you might appreciate that, Saiki-san."

Shaking himself, Kusuo pinned Natsuko with a stern frown. _You can't honestly expect me to believe that God created Teruhashi-san specifically for me. What purpose could that possibly serve?_

"Well," Natsuko canted her head, "that largely depends on the purpose you assign her. Nadi-chan has seen a lot of futures for you, Saiki-kun, and because we have a soul bond, I am able to read her mind even when she is shielded, which means I, too, have seen many of your futures. Teruhashi-san plays a prominent role in almost all of them."

Kusuo swallowed uncertainly. _What kind of role_?

"Again, that is largely up to you. In some futures, she is your closest friend and confidant while in others you are the bitterest of enemies. I have seen futures where you are lovers, estranged acquaintances, and more than a few where Teruhashi-san died in…some rather horrific ways. In those futures, she becomes your obsession while in the futures where you realized how she affects you earlier, she became your drive to do better."

_Uh-huh_. Kusuo cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms, his tone turning condescending. _Tell me, little goddess, how exactly does Teruhashi-san 'affect' me_?

Natsuko's stern expression melted into a soft, knowing smile. "A better question, Saiki-san, would be 'how does she not affect you?' Once you know the answer to that question, you will find the answer to your own."

She brushed her hand across the engawa, searching for her stick. Her fingers hit it at just the right strength and angle, and it rolled out of her reach and onto the ground. Kusuo stepped forward and picked it up without a thought before wordlessly holding it out. Natsuko beamed at him.

"Arigato, Saiki-san. Though truth be told, I prefer flesh to metal. I am far less likely to stumble on the path or fall on my face if I have a sturdy arm to lean on." She tilted her head and raised one shoulder with a sweet, angelic smile. "Would you mind?"

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo held out his hand, which she took, and pulled the petite girl easily to her feet. _You realize those sorts of tricks don't work on me_?

"Of course not." Natsuko looped her arm around his elbow and stepped close, clinging to him with both hands. "And the day you realize why that is, you will be that much closer to your answers."

Kusuo started for the main gate, opting out of the shower for now. Besides, one of the guys had probably grabbed his things already, so there wasn't much point.

"Hairo-san did."

Kusuo grunted in acknowledgment as Natsuko fell easily into step beside him. Silence reigned during their walk, which Kusuo appreciated. If there was one thing he had truly come to enjoy over the last three months without his powers, it was those few, rare moments of peaceful quiet.

Most of the dojos were empty now, their inhabitants having gone off to who knew where save a few who were quietly meditating. Kusuo noticed a remarkably ordinary looking man with spiky blond sitting by a little girl with long blue hair tied back to expose her fish-like ears. She didn't look any older than Yuuta.

_Maybe I should bring him sometime_. Except, when would he get the chance with Yuuta and his family gone all summer? Kusuo forced down a mental sigh at the reminder, and quickly shunted all thoughts aside when Natsuko looked up at him with inquisitive red eyes. He'd had enough of her shuffling around though his mind already.

"My apologies, Saiki-kun, but it cannot be helped. I do not mean to be rude."

_Yare, yare_. The first thing he was going to do when he got back home was grab his germanium ring and never take it off ever, ever again.

The temple gate came into view as they rounded the cornered path, but Natsuko tugged him to a stop with a soft, "Oh!"

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow at her, though he knew she couldn't see it. At best, she could see his outline through the manifestation of his aura; his actual features would be lost to her.

"I almost forgot to mention this, but in addition to the five of you, who must obviously return, please bring Teruhashi-san as well. Naturally, all of your friends are welcome, but it is important that she come especially. She has a very dangerous territory that she needs to learn to close lest someone become overexposed and something drastic occur."

_Drastic like what_? Kusuo wondered, and Natsuko's brow furrowed.

"I honestly could not say, but it is possible that if someone becomes over-attached to her, they may attempt to monopolize her or force her into an unwanted relationship. Whatever the case, it would be best for her to gain as much control over her territory as possible, as soon as possible. At the very least, the ability to weaponize her power, however seemingly benign, would be in everyone's best interest."

_Weaponize, huh_? Kusuo smirked, remembering his brother's bewildered terror when her Angel Tears had called a mob to her rescue a few New Years ago.

"Oh! So, she already has some practice? Wonderful!" Natsuko smiled as she started walking again. Kusuo kept pace with her to make sure she didn't fall over any unexpected obstacles. "That will make things much easier."

"Hey, Kusuo!" Hairo lifted his hand, a paper bag dangling from his fingers by the thin handles. "What kept you, man? I grabbed your stuff."

"Arigato," Kusuo said as he and Natsuko crossed the last bit of garden using the zig-zagging wooden walk and stepped off onto the flagstone courtyard. "I had some things to discuss with Kuwabara-san."

"Oh, yeah?" Hairo's head tilted in genuine curiosity. "What kind of things?"

"Training and stuff." Kusuo shrugged. "She wants us to bring Teruhashi-san along and said we could bring the others too."

"Seriously?" Kuboyasu asked Natsuko and she nodded with a soft, knowing smile. Kuboyasu grinned and slapped his fist into his palm. "Hell yeah. Mera promised me a fight to see how good she can be after eating a bunch of really good food. It'd be awesome if we don't have to wait until after summer."

_Again with Mera_? Kusuo frowned slightly, considering Kuboyasu more closely. He'd always seemed to have an antagonistic-type relationship with Mera before, but then, their only real interaction had been when the group was stranded on that island, and they were none of them at their best back then. Ultimately, Kusuo shrugged. What did he care either way?

"All right!" Kuwabara stepped off the engawa and into a pair of zori. His yukata was opened at the front, exposing his stomach to the waist as he scratched at his well-formed abs. "You kids ready to go?"

Shun snapped pole-straight, his face taking on an expression of awe mixed with horror as he saluted. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Kuwabara scowled. "Enough with the 'sirs,' kid. I ain't _that_ old."

"Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!"

Kuwabara rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Instead, he looked the boys over with a critical eye. "You look exhausted enough, but Nadi must have healed you after, 'cause I know Urameshi wouldn't go so easy on you punks that you wouldn't have at least a bruise or two."

Kuboyasu scowled. "Who'er you callin' a punk, punk?"

Kusuo stifled a groan. He could easily see this devolving into a name-calling competition of posturing stupidity, and he really didn't have time for that. Teruhashi and Yuuta were expecting him home right now so they could all make their 17:30 train to Osaka.

"Sorry, kid," Kuwabara said unexpectedly as he waved Kuboyasu down. "We'll have to pick this up later. Wonder boy over there has to get home, right Saiki?"

Kusuo blinked, surprised, but made no attempt to respond. Not that it mattered. Like his daughter, Kuwabara could no doubt read Kusuo's mind.

"Eh?" Shun looked a Kusuo in bewilderment. "Did you have some place to be, Kusuo?"

Looking over, Kusuo considered dismissing the question but what was the harm? He nodded once. "I'm spending the weekend in Osaka."

"That's awesome, Kusuo!" Hairo clenched his fist with fire in his eyes. "Osaka has some of the best festivals, and Osaka Castle is amazing! There's also a ton of temples, plus the harbor and palace gardens. And—!"

"Yare, yare. I'm not going to sightsee, Hairo."

The redhead was visibly surprised. "You're not? O-oh…well…why are you going, then? Visiting family?"

Kusuo shook his head. "Teruhashi-san got tickets to a Cyborg Sentai show at Universal Studios Japan. She roped me into taking Yuuta."

Kuboyasu snickered. "At least you won't need to be a part of it this time. Mera told me about that time you were forced up on stage to rescue Teruhashi from L-Ginger."

Stifling a growl, Kusuo looked away. _Damn you, Teruhashi-san_. Why was it always her getting him into these uncomfortable situations?

"All right, kids; you can rib each other on your own time." Kuwabara held out his right hand and with barely a spark, a sword of golden light appeared in his palm. The sword hummed and whoomed with even the slightest movement, and Kuwabara swung it with practiced grace to slice a wide scar in the air to show a sliver of the view of southern Tokyo from the roof of their school.

"Last stop, punks." Kuwabara motioned at the scarred scene with a jab of his golden sword. "Everybody off."

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo rolled his eyes and stepped through the tear.

* * *

Kaliea: So, my plan was to finish the entire story over the month of August, but that obviously didn't happen. Because of that, updates will come a bit slower as I'm now thoroughly engaged in a very intense master's program while working three jobs and editing my book for publication; I'm a bit of an overachieving nut-case. That said, this story is plotted out to the end, and I have every intention of finishing it before Christmas. Please bear with me for the time being.

Anyway, this chapter has a major easter egg buried in it, and I'm curious to see how many of you catch it. If you guess right, I'll absolutely confirm it in a PM ;P

Thanks for reading!


	19. No Boundaries

**Chapter Nineteen**

* * *

_There is often a moment in a person's life when they realize they took a very, very wrong turn somewhere but can't think of where that wrong turn was. I'm at that point right now. Not about my powers, that wrong turn was pretty obvious, but about these people who call me their friend._

_Why? Because somewhere along the line, I started thinking of them **as** friends, which is a serious pain. Almost as much of a pain as being born an all-powerful psychic. And what does it say about me that all my friends are so completely abnormal? It's like I was doomed from birth to never live an ordinary life, psychic powers or not._

_Yare, yare._

_I shouldn't complain though. After all, look at what complaining about my powers got me? The last thing I need is for my friendships to become even more troublesome than they already are._

_…_

_I just jinxed myself, didn't I?_

_…_

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**No Boundaries**

"Oh man, you guys!" Nendou stared around at the group with sparkling eyes and pumping fists. "That was the craziest thing to happen since Buddy told us he used to have psychic powers!"

Shun scoffed. "Crazier than some guy showing up at a kid's birthday parting saying he was a member of Dark Reunion?"

"Well, yeah, obviously." Nendou looked at Shun as if he had the lowest I.Q. on the roof. "He didn't blow stuff up with his finger."

_A fair point._

"Hey, you guys," Hairo said before Shun could get worked up at Nendou—_Not that that's unusual_. "I'm going to have to get home and make some calls if I'm going to cut tennis camp this summer to train with you guys. It's only a week, but this is more important."

Kusuo's eyebrows shot up. _Hairo saying something is more important than tennis? The world **must** be ending._

"Same here." Kuboyasu jerked a thumb at his face. "I got some things to get in order before we head back. Plus, someone's got to tell Mera what's going on."

_Oh right, some of the girls have powers too. And speaking of which…_

"You should tell Yumehara-san, Shun," Kusuo said, it was the least he could do after ruining her confession twice. Shun looked startled.

"Why me?"

"Well it makes sense, right?" Kuboyasu rested his elbow on Shun's head and grinned. "You have cram school together, after all. You'll see her way before any of us will."

"Oh crap! Cram school!" Shun darted out from beneath Kuboyasu's arm and ran as fast as he could—which really wasn't saying much—toward the roof's door. "I'll-see-you-guys-Monday-k-bye!"

"I gotta run too; Mom's takin' me to see the old-man perform that cutting a person in half trick."

Kusuo turned white. _You have **got** to be kidding me_.

Nendou waved over his head as he strode for the door, one hand in his pocket. "See you Monday, Buddy!"

"Hey, wait up a sec, Nendou!" Hairo jogged over, the fiery gleam of competition alight in his eyes. "I'll race you out."

The pair took off—Hairo running at a frantic pace while Nendou somehow managed to keep up at a leisurely jog. Kuboyasu snorted as the door slammed closed in their wake. "What would you bet they beat Shun out the front doors?"

Kusuo shot him a dry look. _Do I look like a sucker_?

Kuboyasu smirked and draped his elbows backward over the railing. "So, Teruhashi got tickets to Universal Studios Japan, huh?"

Kusuo scowled_. Don't you have somewhere to be_?

Kuboyasu chuckled and held up his hands. "Not sayin' a word, pal. Not a word." The humor on his face melted away as he lowered his hands, suddenly serious with an uncertain frown creasing his forehead. "But if anything happens, you'll let us know, right? You won't try to handle it yourself."

_Well that's not ominous at all_. Still, Kusuo nodded and Kuboyasu waved.

"Good. Well. Enjoy your trip, Kusuo. I'll see you here bright and early on Monday."

Kusuo nodded again as Kuboyasu made his way off the roof to see Mera. _What a weird day_. And yet, he'd had weirder. Shaking his head, Kusuo started for the door, glancing down at his watch. Ten to five. He'd have to run if he was going to get home in time to meet Teruhashi and Yuuta for their train to Osaka.

_Yare, yare._ Kusuo thought as he jogged down the stairs. _This wouldn't happen with teleportation_.

#

Kusuo stepped into his front door and toed off his school shoes with a bland, "Tadaima."

"Welcome home, Ku-chan! Kokomi-chan and Yuu-chan have been waiting for you!"

"Hai, hai."

A door opened upstairs—_probably my bedroom; that girl has no boundaries_—and Teruhashi's voice floated down the stairs.

"Saiki-kun?"

Kusuo rubbed the bridge of his nose as he set his school bag in its cubby by the door and stepped out of the lowered entryway. "Hai."

"Yatta!" Yuuta thundered down the stairs in his bare socks, stars in his eyes, and Kusuo had to rush across the hall to catch him when he tripped and almost tumbled down the stairs. Kusuo frowned.

"What have I told you about running down the stairs?"

"Sorry, Cyborg Cider-man #2! But Peach-T Girl and me were waiting foreeeever! What took you so long? Did you have a fight with Baron Cola?"

Kusuo's hand dropped to his stomach, remembering Urameshi's first gut-restructuring blow—even if Natsuko _had_ healed him—and suppressed a flinch. "More like Baron Cola's evil uncle."

Yuuta's brow furrowed. "But, but, Cyborg Cider-man #2, Baron Cola _is_ evil."

Dropping his hand, Kusuo started upstairs with Yuuta held firmly in his arms. "Exactly."

"Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi's head poked out of a door—_I knew she was in my room_—and she had that soft frown on her face that told him he was in a world of trouble if he didn't say exactly the right thing. "You're late."

"You're supposed to come with us to the temple for training on Monday," Kusuo said, side-stepping the issue as easily as he slipped by Teruhashi and into his room. He didn't need to pack—his navy-blue bag was already sitting beside Teruhashi's pink and Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-man #2 bags—but he did need to change. "We're leaving from the school roof at 7:00am and won't be back until the weekend before school starts."

"I know you're side-stepping me, Saiki-kun, but I'll let it slide this once."

_Thank Kami for small favors. Maybe He doesn't hate me after all_. Kusuo set Yuuta on the bed and moved to his closet, already untying his hakama even though Teruhashi was still in the room. She'd get flustered in a second and leave; she always did.

"You're going training, Cyborg Cider-man #2?" Yuuta asked, the stars back in his eyes as he bounced to his knees on the bed. "Are you training to fight Baron Cola?"

"That's right." Kusuo gave a rare, but unseen, smile as he shucked off his borrowed hakama pants and draped them over a hanger. "And all his evil minions too. By the end of summer, me and the rest of the Sentai will be ready to take down his whole organization."

"Oh wow! Wow, wow, wow!"

Kusuo started on his yukata.

"You're going to fight too, right Peach-T Girl?"

"Absolutely!" Teruhashi clapped her hands behind him, and Kusuo fumbled his obi belt. "Those evil-doers won't know what hit them!"

_Why the hell is she still here? She always runs off the second I start on my shirt buttons!_

Kusuo turned around, confused. Teruhashi was definitely in the room, though she had her back to Kusuo and was focused wholly on Yuuta. As if sensing his eyes on her, Teruhashi waved over her shoulder without glancing back.

"You better hurry, or we'll miss our train."

Kusuo hesitated for half a second longer before he finally shrugged and turned back around. What did he care if she had a secret perverted streak? A lifetime of psychic super-strength had left Kusuo with nothing of which to feel ashamed. Still, he couldn't deny the sudden tension in the air as he dropped his yukata and reached for a change of clothes just a little too fast to be completely unbothered.

_What is it with this girl that makes me feel like a kid sneaking cookies before dinner?_

Shaking the sensation away, Kusuo turned and finished pulling a short-sleeved black polo over his head. _Actually_, he plucked at the fabric with two fingers, _isn't this the shirt I wore the last time we went to an amusement park together_?

Kusuo couldn't stop a small smirk from quirking his lips when he remembered just how livid Teruhashi had been when Yuuta shoved her into the arms of L-Ginger. He would treasure that aghast look on her face for the rest of his life.

"All set?" Teruhashi turned, one hand on her hip while the other clutched her pink, hard-shell roller-bag by the handle. Kusuo nodded.

"Yay! This is so exciting Peach-T Girl! We're going to Universal Studios Japan, Cyborg Cider-man #2!" Yuuta jumped off the bed and ran in circles around the room before Kusuo finally got dizzy enough that he plucked the boy off the ground by the back of his shirt.

"Yuuta." Kusuo frowned. "You need to calm down. If you act up on the train, you'll bother the other passengers, and we'll get kicked off. If we get kicked off, there won't be any Universal Studios in Japan or anywhere else, understand?"

Yuuta nodded frantically and offered a sloppy salute. "Yes, sir, Cyborg Cider-man #2, sir!"

"Good." Kusuo set Yuuta back on his feet then helped him into his Cyborg Cider-man #2 backpack before grabbing his own duffle bag and the handle of Teruhashi's because he already knew she'd guilt him into carrying it down the stairs, so he might as well spare himself the pain.

"Our train leaves at exactly 17:50, so that still gives us," Teruhashi checked the watch-face settled on her inner wrist, "thirty-five minutes to get to the station."

Kusuo frowned up at her as he navigated the stairs with both hands full of bags. "I thought we pulled out of the station at 17:30."

Teruhashi shrugged innocently, one hand holding Yuuta's as she followed Kusuo down the stairs. "I knew you'd be late, so I accounted for it."

_Yare, yare_. Scowling, Kusuo left Teruhashi's bag at the base of the stairs and stepped into the kitchen to grab the bentos his mother undoubtedly made.

"Now, Ku-chan, there's no need to make such a face. It was very nice of Kokomi-chan to invite you along. She could have taken Yuu-chan all by herself, you know, and then you'd be here all alone all weekend."

Kusuo stiffened, his hands held out for the bento boxes his mother held. Somehow, it hadn't even occurred to him that, if he'd said no, Teruhashi would have gone without him.

_If I'd actually been late, would she and Yuuta have left me behind?_

No, she wouldn't. Not with Dark Reunion running loose. Right?

"Ku-chan?"

Kusuo shook his head and grasped the bentos, nodding politely to his mother. "Arigato, Kaa-san. I'll send you a text when we reach Osaka."

"Honey!" The front door slammed open as his father waltzed in singing. "I'm home my dearest love!"

Kusuo stifled a groan, his hands tightening around the stacked bentos hard enough he heard the plastic creak. He'd really hoped to be gone before tou-san showed up; who knew what kind of teasing the old man would pull out?

"Hello, Papa!" Ka-san hurried to the kitchen door, wiping her hands on her apron as she smiled that dopy, happy smile reserved wholly for her husband. "Welcome home!"

"Oh, Mama!" Tou-san slid into view, his socked feet nearly carrying him passed the kitchen's open doorway and into the stairs as he held his arms wide with a bouquet of red roses in one hand and his coat and briefcases in the other. "Come to me, my darling!"

Ka-san leaped into his arms, the roses somehow clasped to her chest even though Kusuo would swear he didn't see Tou-san offer them or Ka-san accept them. But then, his parents' lovey-dovey actions and attitudes always did manage to defy the laws of physics.

"How was work, Honey? Did you have a good day?"

"A very good day; I only had to lick four pairs of shoes!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! Did you enjoy the bento I made this morning? Packed with love, just for you!"

"I did enjoy it, mama! Your cooking always hits that hollow spot in my stomach that fills me all the way up to my heart!"

"Oh, papa!"

_I think I'm going to be sick._

"Eh? What was that, Kusuo?" Tou-san looked up from nuzzling Ka-san's cheek and blinked at Kusuo, Teruhashi, and Yuuta in surprise. "Oh, I didn't you three were still here."

Teruhashi, being the perfect, pretty girl that she was, bowed to him even though he hadn't bothered to put Ka-san down and offer a bow of his own. Teruhashi didn't seem to mind.

"Welcome home, jii-san."

"Oh, hey, thanks, Kokomi-chan." He nodded to Teruhashi. "It's nice to know that Kusuo has such polite friends even though he's such a beast himself."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. _You picking a fight, old man_?

Tou-san, of course, didn't hear him as he smiled at Teruhashi.

"On your way to the train?" He glanced at the clock. "It's a bit late, right? You three should probably go or you'll be stuck waiting for the 19:15 train instead."

"We were just on our way out." Teruhashi motioned toward Kusuo and the plastic bento boxes he held. "Obaa-san made us some dinner, and Saiki-kun only just got home."

"Oh, I see." Tou-san frowned at Kusuo, the kitchen lights glinting white off his glasses. "Really, Kusuo, you should be more careful of other people's time. Being courteous is an important aspect of any adult's life and if you continue the way you are, always holding people up for no good reason except to fulfill your own selfish needs, you'll fail as an adult."

"Like I want to hear that lecture from you." Kusuo scowled and packed the bento away in his duffle bag. "Especially since that's exactly what you're doing right now."

Tou-san squawked indignantly, but Kusuo ignored him for Teruhashi. "You have everything?"

"Hai." A small, teasing smile tugged at her lips as she hiked Yuuta further up her hip. "We're just waiting on you."

Kusuo rolled his eyes and hauled his bag over his shoulder so he could grab Teruhashi's by the handle. Yuuta had his Cyborg Cider-man #2 backpack on, so that was at least one thing Kusuo wouldn't have to carry. Although, considering how much he was clinging to Teruhashi, it seemed Yuuta himself wouldn't be a problem either.

"We'll be back Sunday night," Kusuo reminded his parents as he nodded Teruhashi out of the kitchen and down the hall to the entryway. Tou-san stepped back to let them pass, Ka-san still held blissfully in his arms.

"Have a safe trip!" Ka-san called.

"And be sure to let us know if something happens! Don't try to handle things yourself if you don't have to."

Kusuo frowned at his father. That was the second time that afternoon someone implied something bad would happen.

_A bad omen_?

"Come on, Mama," Tou-san said seductively as Kusuo opened the door for Teruhashi. "Let's see if we can't give Kusuke and Kusuo a Kuriko-imouto-chan after all."

_Ugh_. Stepping outside, Kusuo slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Kaliea: So there seems to be a misconception going around that Kusuo is going to be powerless for the rest of my story. That is very much not the case. He won't be as crazy OP as he was-Kusuo chose to give up his powers, a choice that must have consequences-but he will still be powerful; he'll just have to work at it. As for what powers he'll have, I've gone back and forth, but in the end, I think I hit on a really good compromise. And for those who are interested, I've dropped some easter eggs throughout the chapters to give you an idea of what powers he's going to develop as a "Spirit Detective" instead of a Psychic. Obviously they didn't make a showing in this chapter, as it's kind of filler-y, but if not the next one then the one after that.

On another note, thank you for your patience. Grad school has been nuts, not the least reason being my five jobs in addition to my five classes, so I don't have as much time to work on this story as I'd like. It will be slow going until (probably) Christmas Break, but please bear with me; I know what I'm doing. Promise ;P

Thanks for reading!


	20. Trouble

**Chapter Twenty**

* * *

_The problem with traveling with Teruhashi-san is that she attracts a ridiculous amount of attention. The problem with traveling with Yuuta is that he is very excitable and likes to ask questions, which attracts attention. The problem with traveling with Teruhashi-san and Yuuta together is that they play off each other, which attracts more than double the attention of just one of them alone._

_And just in case you forgot, even without my powers, I hate attention._

_Yare, yare._

_Are we there yet?_

* * *

**Trouble**

"Look at that, Peach-T Girl! Oh! And over there! OH! What's that?" Yuuta was on Teruhashi's lap, his palms and nose pressed flat against the oversized bullet train window as the darkening world sped past. Teruhashi smiled indulgently, only bothering to answer his questions when he paused to breathe as there was no other way to get a word in edgewise.

As expected, all the other passengers were either turned around or leaning forward in their seats to watch Teruhashi, Yuuta, and unfortunately, Kusuo who had a quad of seats to themselves. Not that it felt like they were by themselves. He could actually feel the guy on the bench behind him breathing down his neck as Teruhashi laughed daintily at Yuuta's starry-eyed enthusiasm. Kusuo also felt more than one glare leveled his way, and he sighed, sinking down just a bit in his seat as if that would somehow help. If he still had his powers, he could turn himself invisible or, better yet, teleport himself and the other two directly to the hotel. Not only would it spare him the murderous looks of the surrounding passengers, but it would also get him to the hotel infinitely faster.

Looking down at the empty seat to his right, Kusuo focused his whole attention on the colorful flyer announcing a new, limited-edition coffee kakigori topped with sliced strawberries and two tri-flavored chocolate straws. It practically glittered—though that could be the overhead lights reflecting off the flyer's glossy finish—and looked tempting enough to eat the paper itself. The flyer had been Teruhashi's trump card when Kusuo took one look at the crowded train platform and announced he wasn't going after all.

Kusuo gritted his teeth and looked away from the flyer with folded arms, slumping lower in his seat. _Damn sweet tooth_.

"Oh! Look, look, look, Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

Kusuo perked up; were they in Osaka already?

Yuuta turned around, his eyes glittering as he grinned toothily. "I saw Cyborg Yakult on a billboard, Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

Kusuo sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really, _really_ didn't want a reminder of the actual reason for this trip. Makoto was a big enough pain without being the center of Yuuta's attention and adoration.

"Um, Cyborg Cider-man #2?" A small hand touched the back of Kusuo's clenched fist, and he opened his eyes, peering over his still pinching fingers to catch Yuuta's suddenly nervous expression as he stood beside Kusuo's knees and shifted his slight weight from foot to foot. "Cyborg Yakult is cool, Cyborg Cider-man #2, but you know you're still my favorite, right?"

The tension melted from Kusuo's shoulders, and he dropped his hand from the bridge of his nose onto the top of Yuuta's head with a barely-there smile. "I know. I'm not upset that you're excited."

"We should be almost there, Saiki-kun." Teruhashi reached across the gap between the front and rear facing benches they each occupied, and rested her hand atop Yuuta's, which was still atop Kusuo's clenched fist. His skin tingled in the few places where her fingertips barely brushed the back of his hand and wrist. "It should only be a half-hour more."

Considering the dramatic up-tick in murderous glares Kusuo got from Teruhashi's should-be-minor show of concern, Kusuo didn't doubt those next thirty-minutes would be hell on earth.

Resisting the urge to glower, Kusuo pulled his hand out from under Yuuta and Teruhashi's and leaned against the window to watch the world fly by.

_Just a few months ago, I could run faster than this._

"Um, um, Cyborg Cider-man #2?" Yuuta tugged at Kusuo's fingers since he couldn't reach the short sleeve of Kusuo's polo. Kusuo looked down at him.

"What is it, Yuuta?"

Yuuta blushed, cut a glance at Teruhashi, waved Kusuo down. Curious, Kusuo shared a brief glance with Teruhashi before leaning forward. Yuuta put up a hand to the side of his mouth and whispered so loudly there was no way anyone in their car couldn't hear it.

"I have to go potty."

Teruhashi stifled a giggle behind her fist, her eyes shining in adoration at Yuuta, who was glowing a bright, almost neon red. Kusuo shot her a warning look, and she mimed locking her lips with a key.

_If only._

"Come on, then." Kusuo stood and held out his arms. "Let's go find a toilet."

"Cyborg Cider-man #2!" Yuuta said, obviously feeling betrayed by Kusuo's casual mention of his delicate situation in front of Teruhashi. Kusuo smirked at his indignant scowl, which was so exaggerated Kusuo couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Gomen, Yuuta." Kusuo scooped the boy into his arms and pinned Teruhashi with a stern frown. "We'll be right back. Try not to get into trouble."

"Trouble? Me?" Teruhashi fluttered her lashes at him. "Honestly, Saiki-kun, what a thing to say!"

_Yare, yare_.

More glares followed Kusuo on his way down the aisle as bystanders took Teruhashi's indignant statement at face-value rather than for the sarcastic denial of truth that it was. That girl was always getting herself into trouble.

_And usually dragging me along behind her._

The nearest bathroom was at the opposite end of the next compartment over in the space between cars and was, of course, already occupied. Kusuo debated going to find another one, but there was no guarantee that one wouldn't be occupied too. Besides, by the time he found one, this one would be free anyway.

"Hey, hey, hey, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Hn?"

"When we get to Universal Studios Japan, we can go to the park before bed, right? Daddy said they have fireworks, and I want to see fireworks! Can we see the fireworks before bed, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Aa," Kusuo said. "Our hotel is right beside the park, so we'll see them from our room."

"Uwaaa! Really? Really, really, really?"

He should find Yuuta's overexcitement irritating, but instead, Kusuo had to fight down a smile as Yuuta's eyes dripped stars and he clutched his little hands together until his tiny knuckles turned white.

"Aa," Kusuo said again. "Really."

"Yay!" Yuuta threw his hands up, nearly flinging himself out of Kusuo's arms with his exuberance. Kusuo stumbled forward, his heart jumping to his throat as he brought one hand up to cradle the back of Yuuta's head at the same moment he twisted, his shoulder driving into the wall instead of Yuuta's skull.

"Yuuta." Kusuo frowned down at the suddenly contrite boy. "Be more careful."

"Hai. Sorry Cyborg Cider-man #2."

Kusuo blew out a breath and rubbed Yuuta's hat covered head. "Yare, yare."

The bathroom door opened and a young businessman in an unbuttoned suit coat and slicked back hair stepped out. Kusuo reacted on instinct, twisting around to set Yuuta on the floor before facing the man with raised fists while wishing he'd thought to ask Urameshi or Kuwabara or even Yamato—awful as she was—how to channel spirit energy—

"What's with you, man?" the stranger said, quirking a dark purple eyebrow as the overhead lights reflected off his equally purple hair. "You wanna start something?"

"Sorry." Kusuo stepped out of his fighting stance, his heart thrumming against his ribs. "I thought you were someone else."

The man tucked a hand in his pocket and looked Kusuo up and down, sizing him up, before his eyes landed on Yuuta who clung to the back of Kusuo's leg, peeking up at the man with his large, curious eyes. The man looked away with a dismissive 'tch.' "Wouldn't be much of a fight anyway, scrawny as you are."

_I'd kick your ass from here back to Tokyo_.

Forcing his clenched fists to relaxed, Kusuo shooed Yuuta into the now empty restroom. "Better hurry or Teruhashi-san will start to worry."

Yuuta saluted. "Aye, aye, Cyborg Cider-man #2, sir."

Kusuo's lips twitched toward a smile. _Cute_.

Yuuta slipped into the restroom and closed the door; the vacant sign flipping to occupied. Sighing, Kusuo leaned back against the wall to wait, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he willed his heart to stop pounding. It had been almost a full week since Yuuta's party with no signs of anyone else from Dark Reunion trying to get at Yuuta. In fact, Kusuo was ready to dismiss the entire thing as a tasteless prank, and probably would have if Yamato and Natsuko hadn't shown up out of nowhere. Now he had crazy thoughts about different energy types, apparitions, ghosts, and demons running through his head. Not to mention gods and demigods.

_And all of them must hate me; why else would my life be so disastrous_?

Something prickled the hair at the base of Kusuo's neck and he stiffened; his eyes shooting open as he tried to pinpoint the origin of his unease. The between-cars compartment was still empty, both doors closed now that Purple-haired Suit was gone. Yuuta was still in the bathroom, too, Kusuo could hear him humming the Cyborg Cider-man theme song through the door. So what was it that had him so on edge?

_Did someone just open their territory_?

As brief and overpacked as their visit to the Kuwabara temple had been, Kusuo and the others had received only a passing explanation of territories, what they were, how they manifested, and the like. He knew for sure that in order to use their powers, most psychics had to open up a mental zone within which their powers could exist. It was almost like stepping into an alternate dimension where normal laws of science and reality could be warped, bent, or entirely broken according to the strength and manifestation of that psychic's power, except instead of the psychic going to that other world, they brought that other world to this one.

Unfortunately, Kusuo didn't know what it was like to be inside one of those psychic territories as the only active psychics he knew (including himself) either had internal territories like Toritsuka and Aiura, or they didn't know how to turn them off, like Teruhashi. The only think Kusuo knew about the feel of manifested territories was Yamato's profession that the sensation of stepping into another psychic's territory was "crazy as shit and impossible to mistake." This current sensation Kusuo felt was neither "crazy as shit" nor "impossible to mistake," which meant it probably wasn't a psychic thing.

So what was it?

The toilet flushed, jolting Kusuo out of his thoughts, and the bathroom door slid open with Yuuta looking up at Kusuo with a self-satisfied grin. "All done, Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow. "Did you wash your hands?"

Yuuta blinked mutely, as if the idea had never occurred to him. He slid the bathroom door closed again and the sound of running water soon filtered through the door. Kusuo rolled his eyes; this happened every single time.

The next time the door slid open, Yuuta sent Kusuo a sheepish smile while drying his dripping hands on the front of his shirt. Kusuo swallowed a snort—he didn't want to seem like he was encouraging such deviant behavior—and held out his hand. Yuuta took it, his own little hand still slightly damp but not enough to be discomforting.

"Peach-T Girl said Cyborg Yakult is doing two shows, Cyborg Cider-man #2. Did you know? Are we gonna see both of Cyborg Yakult's shows, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

_Over my cold, dead, rotting corpse._

"We'll see," Kusuo said.

"Yay!" Yuuta continued chattering as they crossed the full compartment to the next car where Teruhashi was still waiting. A few kids caught Yuuta's reference to Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Kusuo found himself in an impromptu autograph session as kids shoved whatever scrap of paper they had on hand into his face for him to sign. One lucky kid actually had a Cyborg Cider-man DVD, and Kusuo stifled his habitual 'yare, yare' as he signed it with a black sharpie.

_Why did I agree to come again_? The image of a rare, sparkly dessert drifted through Kusuo's eidetic memory and he sighed. _Oh, right. That better be the best damn kakigori I've ever had in my life_.

A girl about Kusuo's age appeared in the mob of children with a Cyborg Cider-man comic book in hand and a blush on her face. "Do you mind?" She held it out. "It's for my kid brother, Jun."

Kusuo shrugged and took the comic to scrawl his much-perfected Cyborg Cider-man #2 signature across the glossy cover. The girl watched him as he wrote, her brown eyes the exact shade as her hair.

"My name's Honda Tsubasa, by the way. What's yours?" Her lips quirked in amusement. "I'm guessing it's not actually Cyborg Cider-man #2."

Kusuo did his best to hide his annoyance. Why was she talking to him?

"Saiki," he said, not caring enough to offer his given name.

"Saiki-kun, huh?" She grinned and leaned over the book he was signing, putting her face right in front of his. Kusuo flinched back, surprised, and accidentally drew a black line across the front of the book.

_Yare, yare._

"You must be a pretty good big brother if you're willing to pretend like that all the time." She fluttered her lashes at him. "It's pretty rare to find guys who don't mind having younger siblings around."

"He's not my brother," Kusuo snapped, capping his borrowed sharpie and shoving the book into her hands. Her eyes widened.

"But…If not your brother then…?"

"Yuuta." Kusuo turned, dismissing the girl to pinpoint Yuuta amidst his crowd of young admirers who wanted to know everything about Cyborg Cider-man and his adventures and his life and did his house really use soda everywhere?

Yuuta snapped to attention with a salute. "Yes, Cyborg Cider-man #2, sir!"

"Teruhashi-san will get worried if we're any longer."

"Yes, sir, Cyborg Cider-man #2, sir!" Yuuta shot a grin at his disappointed groupies and waved. "Sorry, but Peach-T Girl is waiting for us."

That, naturally, ignited the children's excitement even further. Kusuo stifled a groan and reached down to pluck Yuuta out of the crowd. Disappointed cries followed them as Kusuo settled Yuuta on his hip and waded through the last stretch of horded children to reach the door. Parents called out thanks or told their kids to say thank you or just called their children back to their seats like they hadn't just been crowding around a stranger for the last five minutes.

_Yare, yare; haven't these people ever heard of 'stranger danger'_? Which of course brought Kusuo back to that moment at Yuuta's birthday party when Amamiya had grabbed Yuuta with obvious intent to kidnap him. He couldn't imagine for a moment being okay with Yuuta running off to talk to some stranger on a train. He had a hard enough time with the thought of Yuuta being around Teruhashi's brother.

_But then, the guy is a sick pervert. Who knows what he's capable of?_

The car door closed behind them, leaving Kusuo and Yuuta alone in the space between cars for a moment of welcome silence. Kusuo relaxed just a bit in relief but knew the peace wouldn't last. No doubt Teruhashi had formed a crowd around their seats and was entertaining the lot by shaking hands and memorizing birthdates and blood types.

For some reason, that image almost made Kusuo smile.

"Cyborg Cider-man #2?" Yuuta said, pulling Kusuo from his thoughts.

"It's nothing." Kusuo slid the door open before Yuuta could say anything else and found himself faced with the backs of what looked like the entire car's occupants gathered around something at their center.

_Teruhashi-san, of course_. Kusuo rolled his eyes.

"I told you, I'm traveling with someone," Teruhashi's feminine voice drifted through the car, but it sounded wrong. A bit higher, a bit sharper. Almost…frightened?

"And I'm telling you, you shouldn't be such a tease if you're not willing to deliver. Figuring out my blood type? My birthday? Wanting to know about my family? Try and tell me again how you weren't trying to lead me on?"

Kusuo's heartrate ticked upward as a jolt of uncertainty shot through him. In all the years he'd known her, Kusuo had never heard anyone talk to Teruhashi the way this man was now. People _liked_ that she knew their birthdays and blood types. They _liked_ when she asked about their families. Guys and girls alike flocked to her because she was so nice and—at least outwardly—genuine. They liked that she made them feel important; they liked that she treated them like people from the homeliest of the homely to the handsomest of the handsome. So why was this guy suddenly talking to her so roughly?

"I was just being nice!"

And why was everyone else just _watching_.

"Excuse me," Kusuo said, pushing his way through the crowd. Many people, especially the men, pushed back until they looked around and saw who was forcing his way through the crowd. Some looked eager, others concerned. One man clapped Kusuo on the shoulder with a dry chuckle and said, "You've got it rough, guy. Your chick's a tease."

Kusuo gaped at him._ The hell_?

This entire situation was more than just unthinkable; it was _unfathomable_. From the moment Kusuo first saw her at freshman orientation all those years ago, he knew Teruhashi was a cut above the rest. He may not have been able to see her clearly thanks to his x-ray vision, but he could hardly miss everyone's reactions to her, both mental and physical. They 'offu-ed' over her a million times a minute and flooded Kusuo's mind with mental images so astoundingly perfect that Kusuo had been sure they were exaggerations—side not: they weren't—and all he could think was that a woman so obviously blessed in grace, beauty, and charm could only be blessed by God. And how would one treat a woman touched by God himself if not as an angel…?

_Oh_…A thought half formed in Kusuo's mind, just vivid enough to send a jolt down his spine, but he couldn't dwell on it now; Teruhashi's assailant was not backing down in the least. He had Teruhashi by the wrist, holding her arm over her head to drag her closer even as she pushed against his chest with her free hand. She looked as panicked as Kusuo had ever seen her, and something dark and heavy smoldered in his stomach at the sight of her so close to tears. Gritting his teeth, Kusuo shoved aside the rest of the onlookers, not caring about the shouts of annoyance or pain that followed as he broke through the wall of bodies.

"Hey!" Yuuta shouted from Kusuo's arms, his green eyes wide now that his vision wasn't blocked by the crowd. "What are you doing to Peach-T Girl you…you…villain?!"

"Yuu-chan!" Teruhashi's teary indigo eyes landed first on Yuuta then jumped to Kusuo's face with a look of profound relief. "Saiki-kun!"

Yuuta tried to wriggle out of Kusuo's arms, clearly ready and willing to scrap for his darling Peach-T Girl, but Kusuo held him tight. "Cyborg Cider-man #2! Let me down! That guy's hurting Peach-T Girl!"

Kusuo's body flashed hot and cold at that, his glare levered on the young salary man dressed in an unbuttoned suitcoat over a rumpled white shirt. It was the exact same guy he'd almost scrapped with back by the bathrooms.

Kusuo stifled a growl. _Should have knocked his damn head off back then_.

"You again." The salary man eyed Kusuo with contempt, never relaxing his grip on Teruhashi, though she continued to try and fight him. "The fuck do you want?"

"Let her go." Kusuo spoke as evenly as he could manage with his blood boiling so hot beneath his skin, he'd almost swear he could see red steam rising from his bare arms. "Now."

"Fuck that, kid. This chick's been asking for it since I sat down."

"I was being _nice_, you jerk!" Teruhashi tried to wrench her arm back as she pounded the guy's chest. "You're the one who sat by me, anyway! And I _told_ you I was traveling with someone!"

"Shut up, bitch. This doesn't concern you."

Teruhashi gaped, thoroughly aghast. "Excuse you, but I'm pretty sure this is _all about me_!"

"Let. Her. Go."

The man shot Kusuo an amused smirk and dragged Teruhashi closer, his free hand banding around her waist to settle his palm on her skirt-clad bottom. "Or what, tough guy?"

Teruhashi squeaked, her face going bright red in mortification before draining pale with fear. Taking half-a-step back, Kusuo settled Yuuta on an empty bench seat and pinned him with a sharp glare. "Don't you move."

"Aye, aye!" Yuuta saluted with a grin. "Kick is butt, Cyborg Cider-man #2."

Kusuo straightened up and stepped in line with the man, flexing his itching hands as he glared. "Aa."

* * *

Kaliea: So this is a plot-point I've been really excited to bring in. You only get a taste of it here, but there will definitely be more explanations for why Teruhashi is being treated so out-of-character. In fact, the reason has an in-canon tie-in that I personally find rather clever, even if it does seem a bit obvious in hindsight :P

* * *

Okay, so, here's the thing. With all the stories I've written over the years-some of which are really, truly, legitimately bad-I have never received the kind of bizarre backlash I've been getting for this story. Considering the very sparse number of reviews I've gotten (which I think is somewhere around 40?) there has been a disproportionate amount of people getting upset at me for the direction I'm taking my story. I've been told that I've "ruined" the story by not giving Kusuo his powers back or that people don't like the direction I'm going or that they've just decided to stop reading because, clearly, I don't know what I'm doing because I haven't made any mention whatsoever of the sequel manga being printed in Giga. And my response to all of this?

So what?

I don't mean to be condescending or confrontational-really, I don't-but, guys, this is a _fanfiction_. I'm not the author of the original story, I don't have to take the sequel into account if I don't want to (especially when you consider I'd never heard of it before people started getting mad at me for not following it). I've chosen to write a very specific story with an already determined ending, and everything I've written so far, and will continue to write, will be toward reaching that ending.

I'm perfectly aware that the story I'm writing isn't for everyone. Hell, there may not be anyone out there who likes it but me, but why should that matter? It's perfectly fine if you don't agree, you don't have to. You don't have to like the direction I'm going or the choices I've made or anything else; again, this is a fanfiction. I'm writing it because I want to. For _fun_. If you don't want to read it, you certainly don't have to.

There are hundreds of thousands of fanfiction stories on this website (not to mention other websites out there), why on earth would you waste time reading something you don't enjoy? If you want a story where Kusuo gets his powers back, I have at least half-a-dozen I would happily recommend to you as I quite enjoy them myself, but that's not the point of this story. I wanted to take a more "realistic" approach (or as realistic as one can get when writing a story about an all-powerful psychic with the worst case of first-world-problems), and that means there will be consequences to the decision Kusuo made to get rid of his powers. People he cares about will find themselves in trouble and Kusuo will have to find a way to help them without his psychic powers, but that doesn't mean he's powerless, just less powerful.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, you don't have to like my story, and you certainly don't have to keep telling me how much you don't like it. Because frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. I'm just a grad student using my writing to blow off some steam and have a little fun.

That said, my great thanks to all of you who do actually enjoy my story. It has been a lot of fun and a wild ride, but it's not over yet! As always, thanks for reading :)


	21. Spirit Gun

**Chapter Twenty-One**

* * *

_Yare, yare._ _Mine is not supposed to be a fighting anime._

* * *

**Spirit Gun**

The purple haired salary man didn't back down or balk or even look on in casual disinterest. Instead, he laughed.

"Oh, kid. You really think you're some sort of hero, don't you?" He shook his head, snickering. "You haven't a single clue."

Trailing his hand up Teruhashi's back, he traced his fingers over her shoulder and caught her chin, forcing her to look at him. "What about you, gorgeous? You think your man over there is a hero?"

"Hey now," someone called from behind, his voice uncomfortable. "You're going to far now. Sure, the chick's a tease, but that doesn't give you the right to treat her the way you are."

Kusuo glanced back to find an older man with a bushy mustache, maybe about his father's age, frowning uncomfortably. It wasn't the same stone-faced vehemence most bystanders had when Teruhashi was in trouble, but at least it was _something_. All around the crowded train, others nodded in agreement with the first man and Kusuo swallowed down a disgusted grumble. None of them could be bothered to help when Teruhashi was on her own, but now that he'd showed up, suddenly they're interested in her wellbeing again?

Shaking his head, Kusuo turned his attention back to Purple-hair. _Don't question it, idiot. Use it._

Purple-hair sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know what, kid? Fine. I'll give you a chance to defend your lady-love. It's been a while since I've had a challenge anyway."

He tweaked Teruhashi's chin as he turned to her, his face only centimeters from hers. "Give me a minute, gorgeous. I'll be right back."

Kusuo started to say something unaccountably witty, but a sudden pulse cut him off. The world seemed to freeze, then crack around him like a broken mirror, and he would swear that the color of everything had inverted as he and the rest of the car's inhabitants stood still. The entire sensation was crazy as shit and completely unmistakable.

Purple-hair had just opened a psychic territory.

The world reset, but the steady rumble of the train rolling over tracks was gone. The world around Kusuo remained completely frozen, and the unmoving train was entirely empty save Kusuo and Purple-hair. Kusuo spun around, his heartbeat so loud in the utter stillness and quiet that it actually echoed through the empty car.

"Well then," Purple-hair's voice had a sonorous echo that made Kusuo spin around in near panic because the man sounded suddenly _huge_. Purple-hair grinned at Kusuo's skittishness, not any taller or broader than he'd been before the world went insane. He spoke again, and his voice still sounded large, but it was less all-encompassingly huge now that Kusuo could see him talking. "Welcome to my territory, punk."

"What is this place?" Kusuo said, forcing his eyes to stay fixed on Purple-hair instead of darting around the empty, frozen world. "What did you do with Teruhashi and Yuuta?"

"Oh, don't worry." Purple-hand held out his arms, palm up, and smirked. "They're still right here; we just can't see them. And more importantly, they can't see us."

Kusuo didn't relax, his hands still clenching and unclenching as heat buzzed through his veins, adding to the red mist rising from his skin that he now realized hadn't been his imagination. He wondered for a moment if his rising temperature was boiling his blood to steam releasing through his pores, but that was completely stupid. It was something Nendou might come up with.

Instead, he almost recognized the sensation from all those years of using his psychic powers. It wasn't exactly the same as his psychic aura, but it wasn't entirely different either. It was less than what he'd had before, but not new or different. The best he could come up with was a bowl of ramen. The noodles and add ins were all gone now, leaving only stock, but the broth was what gave everything its flavor from the start.

Kusuo looked down at his hands and realized the red wasn't wispy or smoke-like after all, but instead a faint almost flickering glow. _Spirit Energy_.

He clenched his fists again, but this time from triumph. He looked up at Purple-hair with a faint smirk that was almost the beginnings of a grin. _Screw your territory. All you've done is made it easier for me to go all out when I kick your ass._

And now he sounded like Shun. Fantastic.

Purple-hair frowned. "What are you grinning about? Don't you understand what you've gotten yourself into? We're in a completely different dimension from where we were before. Time means nothing here, and the only way back is if I release my territory, which I can keep open for three whole days. By the time we get back, you'll be nothing but a terrorized lump on the floor begging my forgiveness." He snickered. "I'd teach you to call me Master like the others, but I prefer female subs."

Kusuo's heart stuttered at that, and he blinked at Purple-hair in disbelief. "What?"

"Don't tell me you're just now realizing?" Purple-hair scoffed as he shrugged off his suit coat to drape across one of the empty seats. "I already said this world is a separate dimension. Time means very little here because no time will have passed when we go back. I was originally planning to bring your girl here like all the others, but I like the idea of you knowing what she'll be in for once I finally let you out." His smirk deepened to a dark grin of wicked satisfaction.

"That way, when she suddenly collapses into a huddled ball of terror and shame, you'll know exactly why she'll never be able to touch you or look at you or even stay in the same room as you ever again. And every time you think of her, you'll think of me, and you'll remember the time she and I spent here...getting to know each other."

Horrified disgust twisted Kusuo's insides into a mangled knot as his mind oh-so-helpfully provided visuals to coincide with Purple-hair's commentary. "You...you utter fucking _bastard_."

Purple-hair actually laughed. "Why yes, I am a _fucking _bastard. And a damn good one, if I do say so myself."

Kusuo threw himself forward, his mind blank and his body on autopilot. He had no plans, only a driving, instinctual need to make sure this monster could never again hurt another person. Especially not Teruhashi. He moved faster than Purple-hair expected judging by his widened eyes and gaping mouth, but he got a half-assed block up just quick enough to deflect Kusuo's punch away from his face. Instead, Kusuo caught him in the shoulder and Purple-hair screamed as his shoulder crunched and popped. He leaped back, cradling his dislocated shoulder, and stared at Kusuo with bewildered blinks.

"Wha—You—How did you...?"

"You said the only way to get back is if you release your territory, but I don't have to wait for you to grow a conscience." Kusuo straightened, his fist up and ready for another punch. "Your territory will release on its own once you're dead."

Terror settled on Purple-hair's face and his eyes darted around the empty train for an escape. Seeing none, his attention settled back on Kusuo with a dark scowl.

"You think you scare me, punk? I was the king of my high school back in Mushiori City. You may have gotten in a lucky blow, but don't think I'll go easy on you—"

Kusuo shot forward from the balls of his feet, his speed enhanced by a clumsy push of half-controlled spirit energy. It worked a bit like psychic energy, but it wasn't as easy to mold to his will. He could feel the energy inside him, writhing to escape, but it didn't know how. It needed clearer direction than just his thoughts. It needed something more concrete. It needed words.

Looking up at Purple-hair, his sputtered quick-step sending him to a blurred, stumbling stop onto his knees at the man's feet, Kusuo concentrated all the spirit energy he could wrangle into the tip of his index finger and brought it up to point directly between Purple-hair's eyes. The faint red glow looked no larger than a pin-tip, but that was fine. As much as Kusuo wanted the guy dead, he didn't want to kill him.

Purple-hair looked down at Kusuo, his purple eyes a mixture of awe, terror, and confusion. Kusuo frowned and reached for the invisible trigger with his mind before pulling it with his words.

"Spirit gun."

The pinprick of light exploded, and Purple-hair screamed as his territory shattered around them.

#

The real world snapped back into focus with the roar of the train rumbling across the tracks mixed with the uncertain buzz of passengers debating whether or not they should step in and stop Teruhashi from being harassed. The soft buzz shifted to an alarmed chorus of staccato cries as Purple-hair let out a pained yelp and dropped to the floor unconscious. He nearly dragged Teruhashi down with him thanks to his grip on her waist, but Kusuo snagged her arm and pulled her hard against his chest. She yelped and tried to fight until Kusuo grabbed her flailing hand.

"Calm down, Teruhashi; it's me."

"Saiki-kun!" Teruhashi breathed as she slumped against him in relief. Kusuo easily adjusted for her boneless weight, which really wasn't much. She looked up at him with a confused frown, then down at her unconscious captor. "What happened?"

Kusuo shrugged as he watched one of the other passengers check Purple-hair for a pulse. "Who knows."

Teruhashi looked up again, her frown more pronounced. "Saiki-kun…"

He shook his head. _Later_, he thought at her out of habit.

She nodded slowly in understanding, which should have surprised but it didn't. It did unnerve him, though. When had they gotten to know each other so well they could talk without words?

Mentally shaking off his uncertainty, Kusuo set Teruhashi back on her feet and looked at the man checking Purple-hair over. It was the same bushy-stashed man who objected—If you can even call it that—to Purple-hair manhandling Teruhashi.

"Is he alive?" Kusuo asked, more curious than concerned. He'd already noted that Purple-hair's shoulder wasn't dislocated, which it should have been if they had actually been transported to a different dimension.

"Yeah," Bushy-stash said. "But he's out cold, and I think he's in shock." He looked up, a faint glint of satisfaction in his eyes despite the concerned frown on his lips. Kusuo bit down a scowl. He hated duplicitous people who said one thing on the outside but another thing internally. He especially disliked Bushy-stash because he had the audacity to look silently smug, like he'd actually done a single thing to stop Purple-hair from attacking Teruhashi in the first place.

_It's people like you who made me hate my telepathy._

"Is there a doctor on board?" Bushy-stash called, and a murmur went up. Someone volunteered to check the other cars while a short blonde girl mentioned telling the conductor or one of the ticket checkers. Everyone else either floated back to their seats or hovered uselessly over Purple-hair, who had gone ghostly and had a sheen of cold sweat filming his face and neck.

"Come on," Kusuo murmured as he nudged Teruhashi back toward their seats. The lingering crowd parted for them, many of the men looking away from Teruhashi in shame or glaring at Kusuo as if blaming him for rescuing her. He had a sudden realization that several of these men were probably waiting for Teruhashi to be in even more trouble than she'd already been so they could swoop in and rescue her.

Molten anger errupted in his gut, and Kusuo stared those creeps down with spirit energy rising off his skin and making his hair flutter in an artificial wind. There was a collective stunned blink before each of those men looked away. One was so affected, he actually started trembling.

_Bastards_.

"Peach-T Girl!" Yuuta rocketed from the seat Kusuo had ordered him to stay on. He slammed into Teruhashi's chest, driving her back into Kusuo's.

"Yuuta," Kusuo scolded. "How many times—?"

"Sorry!" Yuuta interrupted. "I'm sorry." He looked up from where he'd buried his face in Teruhashi's stomach. He grinned widely but there were remnants of tears clinging to the corners of his eyes. "I knew Cyborg Cider-man #2 would save you Peach-T Girl, just like last time! But that guy…he was really scary, wasn't he Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

Kusuo blinked. _How_—?

The car doors opened on both sides and a slew of medical professionals entered. Some wore J-Rail uniforms but there were a few that looked more like passengers. One man with slicked back hair and a fitted suit with a slim red tie knelt at Purple-hair's side and reached for his pulse. Red-tie flinched back the moment his fingers touched Purple-hair's skin. A flash of surprise flitted across his face and he glanced up, searching the car for…something. He must not have found it because he frowned, shook is head, and went back to examining Purple-hair.

"Come on," Kusuo said, nudging Teruhashi to grab her bag while he lifted Yuuta into his arms and shouldered both Yuuta's backpack and his own duffle bag. "We're moving to a different car."

* * *

Kaliea: Hello all! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Here is one of the main plot points I've been building toward almost since the story began. I say "almost" because it's not exactly the way it was originally planned. That's because I changed from having Kusuo get back a little bit of his psychic powers to not getting them back at all. That said, there's something I need to clarify regarding Kusuo's powers and my taking them away.

Kusuo was never going to get his powers back all the way; that was my plan from the beginning. I knew from the start that I needed Kusuo to be less all-powerful, plus I wanted the consequences of his actions to linger on in some form. When the idea hit me to not give his powers back at all but instead have him shift to a different type of power—meaning Sprit Energy instead of Psychic Energy—it fit my narrative so much better. This way, instead of people saying "Why did he get that power back but not this one?" it would be Kusuo learning an entirely new set of powers that work similarly but in a completely different way.

That said, this is the last time I'm going to say Kusuo will not be getting his psychic powers back, but hopefully, this is just as satisfying, if in a different way. He will be a quick study (obviously, since he figured out how to use the spirit gun on his own) but there will still be roadblocks and obstacles.

Once again, Merry Christmas! I'll see you in the new year :)


	22. The Honeymoon Suite

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

* * *

_This is getting ridiculous. I'm serious. First Dark Reunion is real, then my friends and I are all reincarnations of some all-powerful beings, then psychics are apparently a dime-a-dozen with everyone I know having some sort of power to their name, and now I'm fighting random rapist thugs in alternate dimensions. How could trying to make myself more ordinary make my life even more disastrous than before?_

_Yare, yare._

_And of course there was that weirdness with Teruhashi. She's supposed to be God's perfect angel, so why the hell is everyone suddenly treating her like she some sort of...of...fallen Geisha? Just thinking about it ticks me off. Fortunately, we were able to make it to our hotel without any more problems._

_Well, except for one._

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**The Honeymoon Suite**

"If there is anything more you need, please don't hesitate to call upon any of the staff, Teruhashi-san." The concierge bowed as he offered the card keys. "We do hope you enjoy your stay."

His work done, the concierge bowed himself out of the room leaving Kusuo standing in front of the door with a sleeping Yuuta held up with one hand and three cardkeys held in the other.

_Yare, yare. Since when am **I** Teruhashi-san?_

Beside him, Teruhashi was tomato-red with both hands pressed to her mouth. Not in horror, though, oh no. Kusuo didn't even need telepathy to know she was fighting hard not to grin ecstatically through her embarrassment.

"S-so..." Teruhashi lowered her hands just enough to offer Kusuo a wonky smile that trembled at the edges as though she wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. "It looks like there's a bit of a misunderstanding..."

Kusuo turned to eye the enormous suite complete with a full kitchen, two bathrooms, and a sitting room. The sliding rice-paper doors leading to the bedroom were wide open and perfectly framed the single king-sized bed that almost seemed to glitter at them mockingly. Kusuo sighed and shoved the room keys into his back pocket so he could situate Yuuta more comfortably.

"Yare, yare." He shouldered his and Yuuta's bags before quirking an eyebrow at Teruhashi. "You should probably take a bath tonight. I'll take care of Yuuta in the morning before we go to the park."

"Oh! Um, yes. Of course, Saiki-kun. And, um..." She tapped her pointer fingers together and looked up at him through her bangs with a faint blush. "I'm really, really sorry about this. I didn't expect my brother to book the Honeymoon Suite, of all things. Especially since he knew I was bringing a friend."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched at the mention of her pervert brother. "Forget it. I'll get Yuuta dressed for bed while you're in the bath."

"R-right. While I'm...in the...bath..." Blushing from head to toe, Teruhashi turned on the balls of her feet to walk roboticly toward the en suite bathroom.

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo shook his head, a small smile trying to tug at his lips as he stepped into the bedroom to lay Yuuta out on the bed.

He was snoring slightly, his mouth opening and closing with every deep inhale and exhale. Kusuo carefully pulled off Yuuta's hat and brushed aside his long green bangs. He was actually pretty cute when asleep and not doing his best to be annoying. Not that Yuuta could really help being annoying; he was just a kid after all.

"All right, Yuuta. Let's get you changed."

Setting Yuuta's Cyborg Cider-man #2 pajamas aside for a moment, Kusuo reached to pull of Yuuta's shirt. Yuuta rolled over in his sleep, making Kusuo miss.

_What_?

Kusuo reached for him again and again Yuuta moved and again Kusuo missed.

_What_?

Kusuo tried again, faster this time, but again Yuuta moved. Kusuo stared at his palms, dumbfounded.

_What the heck is going on?_

While he certainly wasn't moving his fasted, Kusuo should have no problem taking off the clothes of a sleeping child.

_(That came out way, way worse than I intended it to.)_

Again and again Kusuo tried to snag Yuuta's shirt, but again and again Yuuta just rolled out of the way. Yuuta wasn't even tossing or turning, there were no sudden or swift movements, he just rolled over like normal and Kusuo somehow missed him. Almost as if Kusuo was slowing down even though he was deliberately speeding himself up.

_What_—miss—_the_ _hell_—miss—_is going on_—miss—_right now_?

"Yuuta," Kusuo snapped, losing his patience as he hovered over the boy sweating and panting from exertion _(Again, you know what I mean_). "Stay still."

Yuuta went still, curling up on his side with a small, sleepy sigh. "Yes, sir...Cyborg Cider-man...#2...sir..."

Suspicious—_had Yuuta been faking sleep the whole time_?—Kusuo reached for Yuuta's sleeve. He hovered experimentally for a moment, but Yuuta didn't move. Eyes narrowed with a slight frown on his lips, Kusuo snapped his hand forward and grasped Yuuta's wrist. The boy didn't move.

_What the heck was **that** all about?_

"Saiki-kun? I'm done with the bath if you—Eh? Why is Yuu-chan still in his day clothes?"

"Teruhashi?" Kusuo turned. "That was quick..."

"Not really. I was gone almost fifteen minutes," Teruhashi said, still rubbing a towel through her damp hair as she eyed him curiously. She was dressed in a pair of thick cotton summer pajamas—a loose pink tank top and a pair of matching shorts—leaving her arms bare from shoulder to wrist and her legs bare from the tips of her pink painted toes all the way up to mid-thigh. Kusuo traced the soft curves of her muscular calves up her well-toned thighs to her wide hips and tapered waist. He continued upward to the swell of her breasts and suddenly realized that the thin straps of her tank meant she couldn't possibly be wearing a bra...

_Offu_...Kusuo snapped his attention back to her confused face and prayed his nose wasn't about to start bleeding. And why was it suddenly so damn _hot_ in this room?

"Saiki-kun?"

The sound of his name shot through Kusuo like a zap of electricity that made his fingers and toes tingle. What the hell? It wasn't like this was the first time she'd called his name before. It wasn't even his given name! And even if it was, she always called him 'Kunio,' so it's not even like that would matter.

_Not like **what** would matter_? Kusuo demanded of his subconscious. _What even **is** this_?

Cliché as it was to say, Kusuo had never felt anything like this before.

No, he had once. During his precognitive episode at the beginning of year 3...

_That was a hallucination! Not precognition! No way in hell!_

Except now he couldn't get that moment out of his head, and Teruhashi was still staring at him with her petal pink lips parted in concern as she took a step forward and lifted her hand. What was she even—?

The soft, fragrant skin of her inner wrist pressed against Kusuo's forehead before trailing down to his cheek, his jaw, his neck. She frowned in confusion as she stood right in front of him, balanced on her toes so she could reach him.

"You don't seem to have a fever, Saiki-kun, but you're all red." She dropped her wrist from his neck to rest her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

How could he possibly be okay with her standing so close to him that he could smell her shampoo? When he could still feel the brush of her bath warmed skin against his face and neck? When there was a bead of water trailing down her clavicle to the curve of her left breast as it made its way closer and closer to the valley between—

"S-Saiki-kun...?" Teruhashi sounded breathless, almost anxious. Kusuo's eyes snapped back up, and he realized he'd started leaning in to...to...to do _what_?

_The hell was I trying to do?!_

Kusuo took a quick step backward and turned around. He could feel the heat radiating off his face and scowled. Was he blushing? Since when did he blush?!

"Yuuta was moving around in his sleep," Kusuo said as he shifted Yuuta out of his day-clothes with ease and into his footy pajamas. "I had a hard time getting him to settle down."

"O-oh." Teruhashi cleared her throat and stepped up beside him, making Kusuo tense up. "It was a pretty stressful train ride. I'm not surprised he's having trouble settling down."

Which just served to remind Kusuo of that purple-headed bastard. He gritted his teeth at the memory of Purple-hair's sick confession and just what exactly would have happened to Teruhashi had he and Yuuta arrived even a second later.

"Hey." Teruhashi's small hand pressed against the middle of Kusuo's back, and he went ram-rod straight. Teruhashi didn't seem to notice as she continued speaking. "I'm okay, you know. And so is Yuuta. Nothing happened."

_Like **hell** nothing happened._

"You're coming with us to the Sanctuary on Monday."

"Eh?"

Kusuo forced himself not to look at her as he zipped up Yuuta's pajama's and lifted the sleeping boy into his arms. The concierge had mentioned a toddler cot being brought in for the boy to use.

"I mean, yes," Teruhashi said as she crossed the room to unfold the small cot in the far corner. How did she know what he was looking for? "But you know I was already planning to."

"Good." Kusuo knelt to carefully settle Yuuta on the cot and tucked him in. "You need to learn how to control your territory or more of what happened today will happen again."

Kusuo could hear Teruhashi's frown when she responded. "You mean with Satoru?"

Kusuo twitched. He turned to frown up at her, one knee still on the ground. "You know his name?"

"Well, yeah." Teruhahi's brow furrowed. "He told it to me."

"Forget it."

Teruhashi blinked, surprised. "Eh?"

"Forget it." Kusuo was suddenly on his feet, Teruhashi's arms held firmly, but carefully, in both hands. "Forget that man's name right now."

"Saiki-kun, what—?"

"Forget it!"

Only a few feet away, Yuuta groaned and curled in on himself as he slept, obviously disturbed by Kusuo's volume and tone. Gritting his teeth, Kusuo grabbed Teruhashi's wrist and dragged her into the sitting room, sliding the doors closed behind them with his spare hand and one foot.

"Saiki-kun, what's gotten in to you?" Teruhashi said the moment the doors were closed. "You're acting nothing like yourself."

Kusuo knew that—of course he did. But when she'd said that man's name so casually, and his _given name_ at that, like they were friends or, or _something_. Kusuo's stomach rebelled against the implication. But it's not like it was Teruhashi's fault. That man had probably only given her the one name—it's easier to track someone down with a family name than just a given one—and kami forbid she tack on a suffix like she somehow respected him.

Gritting his teeth, Kusuo paced the length of the room while flexing and unflexing his right fingers in and out of the shape of a gun.

Even more than all that, how could Teruhashi know what that man planned to do to her? What he told Kusuo straight up he would do the second he released his Territory? Just remembering that bastard's smug grin, his casual reference to his 'other subs,' the ease with which he planned and executed something so thoroughly and disgustingly despicable like it was his _right_—

"Saiki-kun." A warm hand settled over his accompanied her warm voice, snapping Kusuo out of his spiraling thoughts. He was somehow sitting on the couch with Teruhashi kneeling beside his bouncing right leg. She'd probably led him there while he paced. She had his right hand clutched in both of hers with a soft, concerned smile on her lips that reached all the way to her glimmering indigo eyes. "Something happened, didn't it? Something that the rest of us couldn't see."

Kusuo swallowed the sudden lump in his throat but managed a short, sharp nod. Her hands tightened around his, her smile softening even further to something almost pained.

"Tell me?"

"He was a psychic, Teruhashi." The words spilled out on their own with no input from Kusuo. "Like you, Mera, and Akechi. He had this Territory that lets him go into another dimension. For people on the outside, barely a second passes, but on the inside time keeps going. That man said he could hold his Territory open for days without anyone knowing."

Teruhashi stiffened, her expression turning concerned and almost angry. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Kusuo stared at her, uncomprehending.

Concern trumping anger, Teruhashi seemed to wilt as a spark of terror back-lit her darkening eyes. "H-how long were you in there?"

"Are you insane?" Kusuo asked really wanting to know. How could she possibly be worried about him?

Teruhashi frowned. "What?"

"I just told you that man could make an unbreakable Territory that sends him and his victims to an alternate world."

"Which means he took you there because I'm pretty sure I'd remember if he told you that on the train." She sat up on her knees, putting them almost eye to eye. "What happened? Because he must have done something to get you so freaked out. I've never seen you like this before, Saiki-kun."

"You don't get it, do you, Teruhashi? That man wanted to take you there. The only reason he took me first is because he wanted me to know what he had planned for _you_."

Teruhashi leaned back in shock, as if the idea literally hadn't occurred to her. Her lack of self-awareness only stoked the fire in Kusuo's belly all the hotter.

"He..." Kusuo's jaw tightened just remembering that smug bastard's grin as he talked circles around what he'd do to Teruhashi once he was finished with Kusuo. "He's taken other girls there before and he...does things to them. Days and days and days of being his play thing with no way to escape."

"Oh kami..." Teruhashi's hand went to her mouth as she dropped fully on the floor, her legs still bent to either side. "Those poor girls..."

"Are you even kidding?" Kusuo scowled and dropped to one knee in front of Teruhashi so he could take her shoulders and shake some sense into her. "Teruhashi, he was going to do that to _you_."

"But he didn't," Teruhashi said firmly, her eyes narrowing on him as if in sudden realization. "He didn't do anything to me because you didn't let him. You stopped him."

"Only because he took me first! And then bragged about it like the sick, twisted fuck that he was. Is. Shit." Kusuo looked away and dragged a hand through his hair. "I should have killed the bastard."

"Hey!" Teruhashi grabbed the front of his shirt before he could stand and start pacing again and pulled him back down to her level. He could have resisted, but honestly, Kusuo wasn't in any state of mind to be giving his own body orders right now because his every cell was screaming for blood, and he had no idea what to do about it. Or why it was happening. Or how to make it _stop_.

"None of that, okay?" She dug her fingers into Kusuo's jaw and turned him toward her until they were once again eye to eye. "You saved me. Do you hear me, Kusuo? You. Saved. Me. It doesn't matter if it was a coincidence or an accident or whatever. It doesn't change the fact that you stopped him from hurting me. Probably from hurting anyone else again." A sly grin tugged at her lips. "What did you do to him anyway? I mean, the way he just collapsed like that, you must have done _something_...What?"

Kusuo's eyes almost hurt from how wide they'd gone, and considering how fast his heart was hammering in his chest, he was pretty sure he was half a beat away from a heart attack. He tried to talk, to answer her question, but nothing came out when he opened his mouth. Her eyebrow quirked, and he cleared his throat to try again.

"What did you call me?"

Incomprehension slowly morphed to realization on Teruhashi's face, triggering a brilliant, luminous blush bright enough to light the nearly dark room. "I...it...ac-accident! Sorry, I didn't...it won't...um..." She bit her lip and looked up at him through her long, dark eyelashes. "S-sorry, Saiki-kun. It won't happen again."

Oh, screw that. Now that she'd said it, there was no way in _hell_ she was taking it back.

Going up on his knees, Kusuo cradled Teruhashi's jaw with both hands and tilted her head back until he was hovering over her, his eyes boring into hers. "What did you call me?"

Teruhashi trembled and swallowed hard. She licked her lips, giving them an irresistible shine as she stared back at him with apprehension and hope. "I...I called you...K-Ku—"

The front door slammed open and the sitting room lights snapped on. "Kokomi, my love! Did you miss me?"

_Damn it_!

* * *

Kaliea: Explanation time! Yay!

So a few things. First, based on Kusuo's personality, reactions, words vs. deeds, etc., I've become pretty convinced he is demi-romantic demi-sexual. This idea was first introduced to me in tundereaibo's fanfiction story "Without Thinking" (which is fabulous and you should check it out), which includes a very established relationship between Kusuo and Kokomi where Kokomi suggests that Kusuo is probably demi-sexual since he hadn't experienced sexual attraction for anyone but her before. This made a lot of sense to me because, being asexual myself, I see a lot of my own actions, reactions, and dodging maneuvers regarding romance and sex being employed by Kusuo, but he also shows genuine affection and even minor signs of attraction every now and then. That being said, having Kusuo discover his own sexual drive regarding Kokomi was one of the plot-lines I decided to use at the very beginning of the story when I was still figuring out the beginning, middle, and end. How exactly I would get there wasn't quite as clear as I'm a tent-pole pantser-type when it comes to writing, but I rather like how it turned out. Not that I'm anywhere _close_ to being done 0:)

Another thing that I wanted to do from the beginning was put Kokomi in a dangerous situation because of her Territory power. I originally planned to have her brother Makoto be the person who snapped and attacked her, but I realized that wouldn't work with the explanation I came up with for why no one has ever attacked Kokomi like that in the past. It was kind of a shame, but I'm also glad things didn't go that direction because it would have destroyed Kokomi to fully understand and recognize what her brother has been doing all these years. As it is, I'm making most of Makoto's over-affectionate/disturbing behavior toward Kokomi be caused by constant exposure to her open Territory. However, because he's so over stimulated, I haven't yet decided how he'll react once Kokomi learns how to turn her Territory on and off. It should be a fun discovery :)

Lastly, we're moving into the main arc of the story with a major confrontation with Dark Reunion coming up in the next few chapters. I've gone back and forth on several different ideas with some working better than others. I incorporated several different ideas and ultimately came up with a story line that I'm rather proud of. However, I do want to warn you that there will be some character deaths off-screen, possibly some major ones depending on whether or not I decide to go right or left with Kusuo's parents. We'll see which way the wind blows when I get there.

Thanks again for all of your support! This story has been really fun to write, and I'm excited to see what y'all think about the second anime I chose to crossover. I'm 99.99999-percent sure no one will ever guess it before I introduce the main villain, but I would love to see you try!

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and that you have a fantastic, wonderful, and fulfilling new year!

All the best,

Kaliea


	23. Existential Crisis

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

* * *

_You can probably guess how **that** whole interaction went. Makoto was a pervert like usual who demanded I stay away from Teruhashi, then teared up when Teruhashi tore into him and told him to mind his own business. The two bickered back and forth and Makoto asked if they were having another lover's quarrel, and it took everything I had not to move or speak or glare._

_Okay, I glared, but in my defense, the whole Purple-hair incident was still forefront in my mind. I kept my eyes mostly on Teruhashi, reading her mood and expression but she didn't seem upset by her brother. Well, not any more than she usually was when he acted like an annoying perverted ass._

_Which is always._

_Yare, yare._

_Things escalated when Makoto realized Teruhashi and I would be staying together in the honeymoon suite, and he whined about how he'd reserved it for him and his "Darling Kokomi" not "that damned four-eyes"._

_Teruhashi wasn't at all upset when I stole her brother's key and tossed him into the hall. She actually thanked me for it. Of course, her pervert brother's interruption meant that whatever crazy, psychotic episode I'd been caught up in was thankfully broken. Teruhashi's tried to start it up again, but I reminded her we have an early day tomorrow. _

_Hopefully, it will be infinitely less troublesome than today. _

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**Existential Crisis**

Kusuo shifted, still half-asleep and growing increasingly annoyed by the glaring sun cutting across his face. Had he forgotten to shut his blinds last night?

"Saiki-kun?"

_Teruhashi_?

"Saiki-kun, you need to hurry up or we'll be late."

_Ugh, Teruhashi. Let me sleep_…

Wait. What was Teruhashi doing in his bedroom?

Kusuo's eyes snapped open, taking in everything and nothing at once until his surroundings solidified into something tenable. He was laying on the (extremely uncomfortable) sitting room couch in a tastefully but sterilely furnished hotel suite for reasons he couldn't quite remember. Blinking, Kusuo pushed himself up, stifling a groan when his back and sides gave a disapproving twinge, and looked around the rest of the room. Yuuta was sitting on one of the barstools with a glass of milk in both hands as he watched Kusuo with a curious expression.

_Oh_, Kusuo thought, remembering where he was and why. _Right_.

"Good morning, Saiki-kun." Teruhashi glowed as she bounced into view on the other side of the kitchen bar. She wore a blue and white striped apron with the hotel's logo across the breast over whatever outfit she'd picked for the day, and her hair was up in a high ponytail so it was out of the way while she cooked. She set a bowl of rice topped with a fried egg in front of Yuuta followed by another bowl of lightly steaming miso soup.

"Eat it carefully, Yuu-chan. It's hot."

"Yes, Peach-T Girl!" Yuuta set his glass of milk on the counter with both hands and reached for his bowl and chopsticks before Teruhashi cleared her throat. He froze and glanced up warily with his eyes. Teruhashi quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Yuu-chan?"

"Um…? Oh!" Yuuta slapped his palms together and bowed deeply. "Itadakimasu!"

Teruhashi brough her fist to her lips in a futile attempt to hide a smile that transformed her whole face from breath-taking to mind-numbing. And it wasn't just her smile either, this whole situation had Kusuo's brain short-circuiting in a way he didn't know how to reset. Everything was so simply and deceptively domestic that Kusuo couldn't help but wonder if this is what his life could look like ten years from now.

A sudden hunger swept through him as Kusuo stared; a hunger that had nothing to do with food as the imagining swept him away to a time when Teruhashi was feeding their son an ordinary breakfast on an ordinary morning. A time when that unscripted smile was her ordinary expression. When climbing out of bed to kiss her cheek and rest his chin on her shoulder and wrap his arms around her waist was the most natural and ordinary thing in the world.

"Offu…"

"Hm?" Teruhashi looked up, her smile softened as their eyes met but the unfiltered joy remained the same. "Did you say something, Saiki-kun?"

The sound of his last name drew Kusuo up short for reasons he couldn't discern. For some insanity induced reason, he expected her to call him Papa…

A chill seized Kusuo as a shudder ran through him from head to toe and back again. Had he just compared himself and Teruhashi to his insane, love-doped parents?

_Yare, yare! _He shuddered again._ What is **happening** to me?_

"Saiki-kun?"

"Gah!" Kusuo flinched back when Teruhashi's face suddenly appeared in front of his. He still wasn't used to being snuck up on. Teruhashi, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice as she stood to his left, hands on her knees, and leaned forward so she could peer at him with a concerned frown.

"You're not getting sick, are you?" She spoke softly, her eyes fliting to Yuuta for a moment as if to make sure he couldn't hear before focusing back on Kusuo. "Yuu-chan would be disappointed if you couldn't come to the park with us, but if you need to stay—"

"I'm fine, Teruhashi."

She wasn't convinced if the slight pucker of her full, pink lips was anything to go by. How had Kusuo never noticed before how expressive Teruhashi could be with just her mouth? Her perfectly shaped, petal pink mouth that seemed to shine. Was she wearing lip-gloss? Or had she licked them?

"Kusuo…" Teruhashi's warm, minty breath brushed across his lips, her scent invaded his nose, her deep indigo eyes filled his vision, her perfectly peachy skin felt like velvet beneath his fingertips as they brushed across her cheek, along her jaw, over her ear, then finally delved into her loosely tied ponytail to pull her forward to find out how she would taste on his tongue…

"Kokomi!" A sudden pounding on the door jerked Kusuo and Teruhashi apart. They sat there for a long moment, wide-eyed and panting, before the pounding came again. "Kokomi, let me in! Kokomi! It's morning, and I've brought you the most delicious breakfast! Kokomi? Kokomi! Are you in there? Are you awake? …Is that damned four-eyes doing something to you?! Kokomiiiii!"

The pounding intensified, but it was all so distant, like a dream, that it seemed to filter into Kusuo's ears and brain without making any sense.

"Sorry," Teruhashi breathed, her chest still heaving as if she'd just run a marathon at full sprint. "I…that's my brother. I should let him in…"

Kusuo nodded numbly, though there was an irrational part of him that wanted to reach out, grab her wrist, and pull her back down to finish what they'd started.

Every other part of Kusuo was suitably horrified that thought. By everything that had just happened, truth be told. Why was this happening to him? Was it Teruhashi's Territory? Was it finally drawing him in? But after all these years of nothing, why _now_?

"Oh, Kokomi-darling!" Makoto leaped into the room the moment Teruhashi opened the door to engulf her in a bone crushing hug as he rubbed their cheeks together. "Don't you just look perfect as ever?"

"B-brother." Teruhashi's hand pushed uselessly at Makoto's arms. "You're squishing me."

There was a hint of panic in Teruhashi's voice, and Kusuo's spine went ram-rod straight as he realized what must be going through her head. Teeth clenched, Kusuo jumped to his feet with every intention of ripping Makoto away from his sister and tossing him back out the door.

_No, forget the door. I'll throw him out the damned **window**._

"Don't you touch Peach-T Girl, you villain!"

Kusuo's eyes darted to the stool where Yuuta had been siting, but he was gone. A frantic glance around the room found the green-haired boy darting toward Makoto and Teruhashi with a dark scowl and teary eyes. Everyone watched Yuuta in confusion, but there was no time for anyone to react when the little boy came to a sudden halt, drew back his foot, and kicked Makoto in the shin.

Makoto wailed and dropped to one knee, clutching his leg, but there was barely time to register what had just happened before Yuuta was pounding at Makoto's head and shoulders with his little fists. "Don't touch her! Don't you ever touch her again!"

"Yuu-chan!" Teruhashi grasped for Yuuta's flailing fists, one of them nearly catching her in the face. Realizing the fun was over, Kusuo hurried over to stop Yuuta before he accidently hurt Teruhashi. "Yuu-chan, it's okay! I'm fine! I promise!"

Yuuta blubbered through his sobs, unable to form a coherent word as Teruhashi's imploring tone failed to get through to him. She reached for him again, this time grabbing one of his little shoulders to spin him around. Yuuta reacted on instinct, his fist swinging toward her. Kusuo dropped to his knees at the boy's side and grabbed his wrist mere centimeters before he connected with Teruhashi's face.

"Yuuta," Kusuo said, his voice making the boy freeze. "Calm down."

A tremor went through Yuuta's little body before he turned to look up at Kusuo. He had tears and snot lining his face, and his lower lip was trembling. A distressed moan broke through his frozen throat, then morphed to a keening wail as he threw himself into Kusuo's arms and sobbed. Kusuo held Yuuta tight and stroked his uncharacteristically uncovered hair. He shot a questioning glance at Teruhashi, but she didn't notice. She was staring at Yuuta with an expression of empathetic heartbreak so potent she looked like she would cry herself.

_Yare, yare_.

Kusuo stood and shifted Yuuta to one arm so he could hold out his other hand to Teruhashi. She looked up at him, her expression unchanging, before she sniffled once and placed her palm in his. He pulled her to her feet and was surprised when she fell forward into his chest. She clutched Yuuta with one arm while the other snaked around Kusuo's back and clutched his pajama shirt with a tight fist. She was trembling now too, and he could tell she was trying hard not to cry as she buried her face in the juncture of Yuuta's side and Kusuo's chest.

Panic quickened Kusuo's heartbeat as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do with two hysterical people clinging to him and crying. Well, almost crying in Teruhashi's case. He knew Teruhashi's actions were likely driven by her idiot brother reminding her not only of what happened on the train yesterday but also of what _almost_ happened. As for Yuuta…well, he seemed to have been more shaken by the event than he'd let on the night before. Maybe he'd been too tired last night for it to sink in, maybe he'd had a nightmare while Kusuo and Teruhashi slept, but whatever the case, Yuuta was purging a whole slew of negative emotions.

"Teruhashi," Kusuo said when her tremors finally faded away. "Are you okay?"

Teruhashi nodded, but she didn't pull her face away from his chest.

"Do you want me to make him leave?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Teruhashi shook her head just once.

_Well damn_.

"Will you be okay if I leave you out here while I get Yuuta ready for the park? I'll leave the door open."

Teruhashi stiffened for a brief second before relaxing again. She nodded.

"Teruhashi."

She shifted just enough to peek up at him with her big, indigo eyes.

"I can't leave unless you let me go."

"Right." Teruhashi pulled back with a half-hearted giggle. "Sorry, Saiki-kun."

Kusuo frowned at the name, but there wasn't time to talk about the two times she'd slipped right now. Besides, he had no idea what to say about it anyway. Did he like hearing her call him Kusuo? Yes, he was pretty sure he did, which is why he really should stop her from saying it. And yet…

Teruhashi let Kusuo go but went up on her toes to press a kiss to Yuuta's forehead, her lips nearly brushing Kusuo's collarbone as she did so. "Thank you for saving me, Yuu-chan. You're my hero."

No longer sobbing, Yuuta managed a watery smile for Teruhashi before Kusuo gave her one last look—almost a glare—and said, "Call me if you need me."

Teruhashi nodded with a small smile. "Hai, Saiki-kun."

"Excuse me," Makoto said from the door. "But will someone tell me what the hell is going on? Who is that little brat, and why did he just attack me?"

"I'll be happy to tell you everything, Nii-chan." Teruhashi's smile took on a dangerous edge as she turned. "But don't you _ever_ call Yuu-chan a brat again."

Makoto went pale as his pupils shrunk with fear, and he raised an obliging hand. "Yes, ma'am!"

Certain she would be fine for a few minutes—and he was only a door away if she wasn't—Kusuo reluctantly left the siblings alone to get himself and Yuuta ready for the day.

Ten minutes later, Yuuta was still sniffling as Kusuo finished readying the bath. He turned to the boy with a sympathetic frown and dropped his hand on Yuuta's green hair.

"Ne, Yuuta, Teruhashi is fine."

"I-I know." Yuuta buffed away the last of his tears with the backs of his hands. "I'm s-sorry for being such a baby, Cyborg Cider-man #2. I don't even know _why_ I was so scared! Peach-T Girl just sounded so upset and that guy wouldn't let her go and…and…"

"Aa." Kusuo went down on his knees and nudged Yuuta's face up with the crook of his finger. "I understand. I felt the same way."

Yuuta's eyes widened. "You d-did?"

"Aa. Arms up."

Yuuta raised his arms high above his head, and Kusuo snickered.

"Not that high, Yuuta." Kusuo adjusted Yuuta's arms so they were held out to his sides and unzipped the boy's footie pajamas. Once Yuuta was taken care of, Kusuo undressed as well and the two quickly washed up with buckets of warm water before settling into the over-sized tub for a brief soak. The warm water would help clear Yuuta's sinuses and hopefully loosen Kusuo's tightly wound muscles. It wasn't just from the last few days either, though they had certainly contributed the most.

He'd been feeling disconcerted since he gave up his powers back in March, and his run in with Dark Reunion a week ago had only made things worse. Now he didn't just feel disconcerted and disoriented, he felt incapable and almost helpless. How was he supposed to protect Yuuta from Dark Reunion if he could barely protect Teruhashi from some random pervert on a train?

"Hey, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Hm?"

"You love Peach-T Girl, right?"

Kusuo jolted up, sloshing water over the rim of the tub as his whole body heated up. If he'd still had his psychic powers, he would have boiled it into steam in a second.

"Wh-what? Why would you—? _What_?"

Yuuta shrugged, hugging the floating disk provided by the hotel for children as he slowly kicked his way from one end of the enormous tub to the next. "That's what Cyborg Ramune always says on your show, even if you always deny it. But you're always there to protect Peach-T Girl, right? And isn't that what you do when you love some one?"

Kusuo gaped at Yuuta, who didn't seem to notice. "I—people—can protect other people without loving them. The police don't love everyone they protect; they're just doing their jobs."

"But…" Yuuta drifted to a stop, his nose and forehead scrunched together in thought. "But if you love someone, then you want to protect them more than other people, right? You get scared if someone tries to hurt them, and you promise to always save them, no matter what, right Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"I…I guess that's probably true."

Yuuta nodded, his expression shifting to one of firm understanding. "I thought so."

A heavy, awkward silence permeated the room until Kusuo decided they'd indulged long enough and shuffled Yuuta out of the bath. Kusuo was drying Yuuta off, a towel tied around his own waist, when he finally spoke again.

"Why did you ask?"

"Hm?" Yuuta looked up, grinning innocently. "Ask what?"

Kusuo's brow twitched. _Did you really forget already? Yare, yare. How can kids be so carefree_?

"All that stuff about Teruhashi and…love?"

"Oh!" Yuuta's eyes widened, and he shot a quick look around the empty bathroom before waving Kusuo down as if to impart the secret of the universe. Kusuo leaned forward despite himself.

"It's because I love her."

Kusuo's heart leapt in his chest, but Yuuta wasn't done yet. He looked up at Kusuo, his eyes sparkling with hearts and stars.

"She's cool and funny and nice and warm and she smells really good too! She always smiles like a doll and her eyes are reeeeeaaally big!" Yuuta circled his fingers around his eyes before dropping his hands.

"She gives good hugs and she tells good stories and cooks yummy food—even better than Mama or Auntie! She teaches me maths and kanji and doesn't laugh when I tell her I wanna grow up to be just like you, Cyborg Cider-man #2! Mama and Papa always laugh, but Peach-T Girl _never_ does. She says that a-a…" Yuuta's nose wrinkled, "re-speckle-able goal because you're so great, and she's _right_ because you _are_, but she is too, right, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"A-aa." Kusuo had no idea how else to respond because he was too busy having an existential crisis over the fact that he agreed with Yuuta on every single one of those things. _The hell_?

"Right." Yuuta nodded firmly and crossed his little arms over his bare chest. "And that's why I'm gonna protect her, Cyborg Cider-man #2. Just like you."

"Dry your hair," Kusuo said, dropping a towel over Yuuta's head so he could use the distraction to escape. "I'll get our clothes."

"Yes, sir, Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

Kusuo stumbled into the bedroom, barely remembering that the doors were still wide open so Teruhashi would know that he could hear her if she needed him. The low murmur of her and Makoto's voices drifted into the bedroom, letting him know they were both in or near the kitchen, and he slipped across the room to the dresser Teruhashi had unpacked their clothes into the night before. He pulled open the drawer dedicated to Yuuta and selected a folded outfit Teruhashi had pieced together last night so Kusuo wouldn't have to worry about finding something matching.

He wasn't a terrible dresser by any means, but he did prefer it when his choices were easier. He knew she knew that about him—it had come up once during the months she'd invaded his home and privacy—but it still surprised him when he opened is own drawer to find his clothing similarly arranged. She'd even stacked his socks atop the outfit they would coordinate with the best.

It was all disgustingly domestic.

_So why do I feel all…**floaty**_? Kusuo scowled at himself and hurried back to the bathroom. _Yare, yare. This trip better end soon or I'll completely lose what's left of my mind._

Kusuo helped Yuuta dress first as the boy absently hummed through the Cyborg Sentai theme song. Naturally, Teruhashi had arranged Yuuta's outfits so Kusuo would grab the shirt with Cyborg Cider-man #2's picture plastered across the front. It was a shirt Teruhashi had designed herself and given to Yuuta for his birthday, so instead of the usual Anime-style Cider-man, this one had a picture of Cider-man Kusuo soda-kicking L-Ginger at the amusement park the three had visited a few years back. Yuuta adored the thing, of course, and all his friends had been wildly jealous that Yuuta got to have a shirt with the real Cyborg Cider-man's picture on it. Yuuta's utter joy was the only thing that kept Kusuo's scolding of Teruhashi down to a disapproving scowl.

"I'll go watch Peach-T Girl while you get dressed, okay Cyborg Cider-man #2?" Again, Yuuta looked around before propping his hand beside his mouth and leaning in to faux whisper. "I really don't trust that shady guy."

Kusuo snickered and ruffled Yuuta's nearly dry hair. "Aa. You go protect her, Cyborg Mini."

Yuuta beamed at Kusuo then hurried out the bathroom door, leaving Kusuo to dress in an oppressive silence that left him no other option but to think.

* * *

Kaliea: So another filler-esk chapter - sorry about that - but this is an important turning point for Kusuo. Not only in his relationship with Kokomi but also his relationship with Yuuta. He's starting to realize he's not the emotionless automaton he always assumed he was but that he just processes his emotions differently from most people. As for the content here, I wanted to pay homage to my original idea of having Makoto be the one who attacked Kokomi but without the actual attack, so poor Kokomi got caught up in a bit of a flashback. This was also to show that just because someone wasn't actually raped, they can still be affected by it in different ways, some of which are pretty extreme. For Kokomi, the sense of being powerless and not understanding why she was being treated the way she was ignited a disbelieving shock inside her. She'll probably struggle with being suppressed for a while with anyone who might try to hold her back or not let her go when she asks creating a mini flashback. Depending on who it is, the intensity of the flashes will vary with some people barely eliciting a reaction (like Makoto) while others could cause her to go into full-blown panic. As I haven't planned any specific incidents moving forward, anything that does come up will be an in-the-moment addition.

As for Yuuta calling Kusuo out, that both was and wasn't planned. Yuuta being a little boss for big-sister-Kokomi was something I've wanted to do from the beginning, though I didn't expect that to come about quite as it did. Poor little Yuuta; I honestly feel bad for traumatizing the little baby. The bath scene also wasn't completely planned, but since the two of them were alone and Yuuta is a precocious little devil, I figured there was little to no chance of Kusuo getting out of that encounter emotionally unscathed.

Next chapter, the group (finally) heads to the park!


	24. Jinxed

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

* * *

_You would never guess, but Yuuta is an excellent bodyguard. After his initial reaction to Makoto (and Teruhashi's reaction to her brother's reaction to Yuuta), there wasn't much either Teruhashi could do against the full-on assault of childish manipulation that is Yuuta. Yare, yare. Who'd have thought I'd be grateful for Teruhashi passing on her "pretty girl" habits? Yuuta's not a girl, of course, but it turns out Teruhashi's same tricks work for kids too. _

_The whole time we got ready for the park, Yuuta clung tightly to Teruhashi with a brilliant, adorable-child grin as he talked her ear off about all the cool things they would do and how he was so happy Peach-T Girl was there because it would have been so boring without her because she's so awesome and strong and smart and pretty that of course he can't stand not being around her and won't she hold his hand while they head towards the elevator because there are so many weird people in the hallway and won't she come with him to talk to the time-traveler clock-man in the foyer with the funny hat?_

_Teruhashi is eating it all up with strawberries and cream, floating along behind Yuuta as he drags her by the hand wearing the most goofily contented smile I've ever seen. Of course, it looks good on her, but I've never seen anything that didn't look good on her._

_Well, her ugly tears were pretty close._

_Yare, yare._

_As you can guess, Makoto isn't at all happy about the whole thing but he's doing a good job of keeping his smile natural when Teruhashi looks at him. Every other time, though, his smile is obviously strained, and a vein keeps popping in his forehead. He can't even get close to Teruhashi because every time he tries, Yuuta finds something else that he just absolutely has to share with his darling Peach-T Girl, who he then drags after him wearing that same floaty, happy, goofy grin._

_I decided to leave them to it and only shoot the occasional smirk at the pervert brother. _

_It's the simple things in life._

* * *

**Jinxed**

"And we can go to Hogwarts and see Big Bird and ride Hippoggs and fight dinosaurs and meet Minions and eat lots of food and then, and then!" Stars dripped from Yuuta's eyes as he stared up at Teruhashi with a wide grin. "We'll finally get to see Cyborg Yakult!"

Teruhashi giggled, pressing her fist to her lips as she tossed a knowing look over at her shoulder at Makoto. She didn't notice his strained grin shift to a something more natural, but Kusuo did.

_Worm_.

"Yes," she said. "You'll finally meet Cyborg Yakult."

"Actually, Yuuta," Makoto jumped in, his smile going shady as he turned it on Yuuta. "You may not have realized because I don't have my uniform on, but _I'm_ Cyborg Yakult."

Yuuta frowned. "No, you're not."

Makoto's brow twitched. "I promise you, I am."

Yuuta shook his head. "You're not."

"Actually, I—"

"Oh, look!" Teruhashi pointed at the enormous gate looming just ahead featuring the earth crossed by 'Universal Studios'. It also had a removable wrap-around cutout of Cyborg Yakult punching out Baron Cola. "We're here!"

"Uwaaaahhh!" More stars and even a little drool this time. "We're here! It's Cyborg Yakult! I see Woody-Pecker! And look, look, look Peach-T Girl! The _real_ Cyborg Yakult is up there!"

Yuuta dragged Teruhashi away leaving Makoto gaping after with obvious indignation. Kusuo sniggered. It was only once, but Makoto apparently had very good hearing. His head twisted around at an awkward angle, his face contorted with angry disgust as he glared Kusuo down. Kusuo didn't need his powers to know the actor's aura was on fire.

"You say something, four-eyes?"

_Yare, yare_.

"What are you doing without your glasses, anyway?" Makoto stepped closer, his arms crossed, and his chin jutted forward with that same ugly scowl still firmly in place. "You decide to try contacts, huh? Think Kokomi will like you better now that you don't have those stupid glasses anymore? Well think again, you low-life piece of shit. Kokomi isn't so shallow she'd care about someone wearing _glasses_."

_She actually isn't, which always surprised me._

"It's all about the face, dumbass, the _face_." Makoto stood, his own face once again shining as he smirked arrogantly and tossed his blue hair back with one hand. "And obviously the one with a face beautiful enough as to be comparable to hers in anyway is only me—Hey! Don't you walk away when I'm talking to you!"

_Trust me, Perv, you **want** me to walk away_. With how tense Kusuo still was from the night before (and even more so from that morning) he was liable to punch Makoto's 'beautiful' face in. Fortunately for everyone but Makoto, the idiot was recognized by a fan and immediately mobbed, freeing Kusuo to meander up to the gateway where Teruhashi and Yuuta were stopped to get a picture with some giant blue bird with red hair and a pointy beak.

"Saiki-kun!" Teruhashi waved him over. "Hurry up!"

"Aa," Kusuo agreed, though he didn't hurry. Why should he when the sun was shining down just right from a break in the clouds to beam down right on Teruhashi and Yuuta like God Himself had shined a spotlight right over her?

_She really is beautiful_. Kusuo thought grudgingly. He honestly wasn't sure if he would prefer her to be plainer, but it certainly was annoying that she always attracted so much attention. Such as right now: Teruhashi was positively swamped by paparazzi.

"Excuse me," Teruhashi said, her voice just a little higher and her smile just a bit tighter than they usually were when she addressed her adoring crowd. "I'm trying to get a picture with my—"

Someone bumped her from behind and Teruhashi shrieked, stumbling forward and unable to regain her balance with Yuuta held firmly in her arms. Her eyes squeezed shut and she wrapped her arms tight around Yuuta as she twisted her body to land on her back to spare Yuuta. She needn't have bothered; Kusuo was already there.

He understood better, now, how he still managed to move so fast every now and then. Just like before in that Man's territory when he used Urameshi's spirit gun, Kusuo could feel the pale remnants of his powers in the spirit energy that flared through his body on occasion—usually when Teruhashi or Yuuta was in trouble. He had felt it just now and had focused it into his feet to propel himself forward in a dash, almost as if he had rockets strapped to the bottoms of his shoes. He reached Teruhashi just in time to brace her fall as all three of them tumbled to the asphalt.

Teruhashi went even tenser at his touch, a minute shiver running through her from head to toe, and Kusuo squeezed her arm in comfort.

"It's me."

Teruhashi went boneless against him, practically radiating relief. "Saiki-kun!"

She rolled to her side so she and Yuuta weren't crushing him anymore and leaned over his face with a worried frown. Yuuta popped up beside her, mimicking her frown almost perfectly.

"Are you okay, Saiki-kun?"

A bubble of…something…swelled in Kusuo's chest as he stared at her. No, he was _glaring_ at her. The words were out of his mouth before he could even think to form them, never mind _stop_ them.

"Stop calling me that."

Teruhashi blinked. "Stop calling you…Saiki-kun?"

He wanted to disagree, say she'd misunderstood, but it was pretty obvious she hadn't seeing as she hadn't called him anything _else_.

_Yare, yare_, Kusuo thought as he propped himself up on his elbows. _How do I get myself into these situations_?

Unable to go back, Kusuo did the only thing he could. He moved forward.

Shrugging, Kusuo climbed to his feet and offered her his hand. "Everyone else calls me Kusuo now. Seems kind of stupid for you not to."

Teruhashi blushed scarlet as she slowly reached for Kusuo's hand and let him pull her up. "A-all right, K-Kusuo…kun…"

A lump formed in Kusuo's throat at that and he felt suddenly parched. _Not surprising, it's mid-summer in **Osaka**_.

Yet despite that logic, Kusuo couldn't shake the feeling that his sudden inability to swallow had absolutely nothing to do with the sun or rising humidity.

"Oi! Get a room, you two!" The sudden shout made Kusuo and Teruhashi jump and look wildly around at the various faces laughing, glaring, and even leering in their direction. As one, their eyes fell on their still joined hands before both let go and took a lightning step back.

"A-ahahahaha." Teruhashi tucked her hands behind her back and grinned uncertainly. "Um, we'd better hurry or the lines will be too long…Oh! Our picture!"

"Not to worry, miss."

Kusuo turned to see an older, foreign woman offer Teruhashi a small digital camera. The woman spoke English, but both Kusuo and Teruhashi were fluent.

"I took plenty of pictures for you."

Teruhashi offered a real, unadorned smile that shot through the hearts of everyone present as she accepted the camera with a relieved bow. "Thank you so much!"

"Of course, dear!" The woman patted Teruhashi's shoulder. "You have a beautiful family."

Teruhashi blushed a violent red and shot Kusuo a nervous look that he refused to return. Better to just pretend he didn't understand.

"What's she and Peach-T Girl saying, Cyborg Cider-man #2? And why are your ears all red?"

_Yare, yare_.

From the front gate, Kusuo and Teruhashi let Yuuta set the course. He dragged them through the park with starry-eyed fervor riding every ride he was tall enough to get on and sobbing loudly when he learned he was just barely too small to ride the Jurassic Park ride.

"Yuuta," Kusuo had scolded the sobbing boy, dropping a hand onto his hat. "Calm down."

"But—but—but—!"

"Oh, Yuu-chan," Teruhashi said, going down on her knees and pulling him into a tight hug. "I know it's disappointing, but this just means we'll have to come back again next year!"

Yuuta stopped crying and looked up at her with bewildered, hopeful eyes. "Really?"

Teruhashi held out her pinky and grinned. "Really, really."

"Yay!" Yuuta locked pinkies with her for only a moment before rushing off after a park performer wearing the costume of a giant white dog with a big head and floppy black ears.

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow at Teruhashi. "Next year?"

She blushed but shrugged. "At least he stopped crying."

By the time they reached Harry Potter World, Kusuo had expected Yuuta's excitement to wane from exhaustion and hunger, but he was as energetically sparkly as ever as he pointed out all the different shops to Kusuo and Teruhashi as he babbled happily about all the things he could get.

"—and robes and a wand!" Yuuta said, clapping his hands in delight.

Kusuo shook his head. "You don't get robes or a wand until you're eleven. You have to wait for your Hogwarts letter."

Yuuta deflated. "Oh…well…I guess that makes sense. But we can still get turkey legs and butterbeer, right, Cyborg Cider-man #2?"

"Aa."

Cheering again, Yuuta led the way to the Three Broomsticks. Teruhashi fell instep with Kusuo as the pair followed the boy, and he refused to look at her on principal because he could just feel her teasing grin burning his cheeks.

"What?" he said when the silence dragged too long. She giggled.

"Eleven?"

"Yare, yare."

The tavern was packed to the windowsills with people, and Kusuo felt a sharp stab of panic when he lost sight of Yuuta, but the boy soon darted back to grab both his and Teruhashi's hands to drag them toward the line.

"I've never had butterbeer before, Cyborg Cider-man #2," Yuuta said as Kusuo picked him up, all three of them having been jostled by the crowd too much for Kusuo's comfort. He didn't want anyone to step on the poor kid. "Do you think it's any good?"

"I guess we'll find out."

It took almost forty minutes to order their lunch and find a seat, and by that time, Yuuta had passed out on Kusuo's shoulder.

"What should we do?" Teruhashi asked, her brow furrowed as she watched Yuuta with concern. "He can't be comfortable sleeping like that, but if we take him back to the hotel, he could sleep through brother's show, and that would devastate him. And he's so worn out that I can't even think of waking him up, but he needs to eat. He's only had simple snacks since breakfast and we're eating late as it is. What should—?"

"Calm down, Teruhashi. He's fine where he is for now. If he's still asleep by the time we're done eating, we'll wake him. He can eat then, and after we'll get seated early for the show."

Teruhashi sighed with a relieved smile. "You're always so decisive, Saiki-kun."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched, but he was determined to hold his tongue this time. If she wanted to keep calling him 'Saiki' like there was still actual distance between them, then what did he care? It was a good thing, even, because the last thing he needed was for people to get the wrong idea about the two of them. They weren't lovers or dating or anything like that. They were barely even friends, and that was all they would ever—

"Oh!" Teruhashi blushed and took a tentative sip of her drink before glancing up at him with nervous eyes and an uncertain smile. "I…I meant Kusuo-san…right?"

Kusuo's heart did a triple backflip in his chest, and he looked away to hide the incriminating heat on his cheeks. Fortunately, the tavern was dimly lit so she probably couldn't see his heightened color. "Aa."

They picked at their food in an awkward silence as Kusuo did his level best to keep his eyes from settling on Teruhashi for longer than a second or two before flitting them back away to stare at some unimportant thing in the tavern; a broomstick mounted on the wall, a busty bar-maid with curly raven locks and western features, a rainbow collection of Hogwarts scarves, robes, and crests.

"S-so!" Teruhashi coughed when her voice cracked just a bit before diving back in. "Onii-san said he had seats reserved specially for us at the front, and he also said that someone would be chosen from the audience to be part of the show. He wanted it to be me, but we both know _that's_ not happening. _Never_ again. Instead, I convinced him to have Yuuta brought up so he can meet his hero and fight the bad guy." She put a finger against he bottom lip and looked skyward in thought. Which of course made Kusuo realize he'd been staring at her during her entire speech.

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo tore his eyes away, this time focusing them on the giant back of an enormous hairy man who had just walked in. People swarmed the man excitedly, and Kusuo realized he must be a costumed actor pretending to be Hagrid. It was a pretty good make-up job. If Kusuo didn't know better, he'd say this guy was the actual actor from the movies.

"I'm not sure who they chose to be the bad guy for the show," Teruhashi continued, and against his will, Kusuo's eyes darted back to her face. But then, it was rude not to look at someone when they were talking to you, right? So it was fine. "I know Onii-chan said they weren't using Baron Cola because they still couldn't find an actor that resembled him close enough. Maybe Rice Malt, he's Cyborg Yakult's biggest rival, but either way, Yuuta should be just fine."

Kusuo frowned. _I wasn't worried._

As if reading his thoughts, Teruhashi sent Kusuo a teasing grin. "We'll be in the front row too, so if something does happen, I'm sure Cyborg Cider-man #2 can handle it when Onii-chan can't."

_She said **when** he can't, not **if**_. The idea that Teruhashi trusted Kusuo more implicitly than she did her own brother (_not that there's much to trust there, damn pervert_) did _not_ make Kusuo shift giddily in his seat. His butt was falling asleep is all. Yuuta was heavier than he looked!

Kusuo scowled at her. "You better not have jinxed us, Teruhashi."

Teruhashi blinked wildly, her face losing some color. "D-do you think that's—?"

"Peach-T Girl?" Yuuta said as he stirred awake. He rubbed at his wide green eyes with both little fists before looking around. His eyes landed on Kusuo, and he grinned. "Hi, Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

"Hi," Kusuo returned before shifting Yuuta around so he was facing the table. "You need to eat or we'll be late for your show."

"Ooo!" More stars dripped from Yuuta's eyes as he took in the feast surrounding them. Turkey legs, fish and chips, bottles of butterbeer and pumpkin juice, pumpkin pasties and caldron cakes, even chocolate frogs. Normally, guests were only allowed to trade their meal tickets for one thing apiece due to supply and demand, but Kusuo could admit that there were occasional perks to having Makoto be the one to front the bill. However grudgingly that admission came.

Yuuta thrilled himself with trying a little bit of everything again and again. Somethings he went back to more often than others, like the turkey leg and chips, with others being avoided almost entirely after a first try (Yuuta did not like pumpkin juice). He likely would have stuffed his cheeks full of nothing but cakes and butterbeer if Teruhashi hadn't put her foot down insisting he have 'real food' first. Not that Kusuo minded; that left more sweets for him. And as long as he saved Yuuta at least one caldron cake and pumpkin pasty each, who was going to complain?

"You too, Kusuo-san," Teruhashi said, stopping Kusuo from sliding over the plate of caldron cakes using only one finger. "Eat real food first. We'll need actual energy if we're going to make it through the rest of the day. We've only seen half the park, after all."

Yare, yare, Kusuo grumbled internally, but he did as she said anyway. It wasn't worth fighting over. Besides, the cakes would still be there when he finished his fish and chips.

* * *

Kaliea: So here we (finally) get the 'boring family trip' you've been promised. Nothing remarkable so far, but of course, with a chapter title like that...^-^; Next chapter, we get the Cyborg Yakult show, or at least part of it. I'm not sure how much of it we'll get through since I haven't written it yet and, as previously stated, I'm working off an _extremely_ rough outline. For you YYH fans out there, I dropped an "easter egg" in this chapter pertaining to one of the actual psychics from the show. I'd be interested to see if anyone can spot it :) Thanks for reading!


	25. What Madness Is This

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

* * *

_Teruhashi's brother is a perverted freak, but I have to admit, his people know what they're doing. The stage they've set up is in a cavernous amphitheater with stadium seating and the set makes use of every inch of the enormous stage. From one end to the other spans a city street populated with streetlights and signs, cultivated bushes and trees, even a raised garden box filled with flowers set outside a street café that looks remarkably like Café Mami. _

_The stage is empty for now, not unexpected considering we're the only people in our seats right now. Prime seats, too, right at the center front. Which means I have the perfect vantage point to stare at Teruhashi's brother for a good half-hour._

_(As I'm sure you can tell by the tone of my writing, I'm very excited.)_

_Still, Yuuta is excited and even Teruhashi is looking forward to what's coming, so I guess I can't complain too much. Besides, once this is over, we can head to Café Aomori for that kakigori Teruhashi promised me. And no, I don't have the café flyer in my pocket and I don't keep checking it every few minutes as a reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel._

_Yare, yare._

_Ah, more people are filtering in. And now the flood gates have opened. Someone is sitting to my right—Teruhashi is to my left with Yuuta in the seat between us—and there's something familiar about him. I try my best to be unobtrusive as I glance right from the corners of my eye. My brow furrows._

_Matsuzaki-sensei?_

* * *

**What Madness Is This**

"Oh! Hey, Saiki. Teruhashi-san." Matsuzaki looked surprised as he raised a hand to Kusuo. "Never expected to run into you here."

Kusuo offered a polite nod as bowing while seated was awkward. "Matsuzaki-sensei." His brow furrowed as he couldn't think of a single reason why P.K. Academy's gym teacher was sitting in the front row of a children's show at an amusement park in Osaka.

"Are you a Cyborg Sentai fan?" Kusuo couldn't bring himself to ask specifically about Cyborg Yakult and especially not Mogami Toru, though either of those were more likely.

"Oh no, not me." Matsuzaki leaned back to reveal a pair of girls about Yuuta's age. They were almost identical, each sporting the same green-black hair, brown eyes, soft features, wide grin, except the girl on the left had a short, page-boy style hair cut while the other had her much longer hair in twin braids.

"These girls are my nieces," Matsuzaki said, pointing to the short haired girl first. "Reiko and Yuuko."

"Hello!" The girls spoke in tandem.

_Creepy_.

"I volunteered to bring them to the show so their parents could enjoy the rides together instead of taking turns."

"I see." Kusuo hadn't known Matsuzaki had any siblings, never mind nieces or nephews, but then, it's not like he'd made a habit of digging up personal facts regarding his teacher's home lives when he still had telepathy.

"Hi!" Yuuta popped up from his chair, hanging from Kusuo's shoulders with a bright grin. "I'm Yuuta! Do you guys like Cyborg Yakult too?"

"Yeah!" Reiko said, jumping up on her seat too so she could lean around Matsuzaki. "But Cyborg Ramune is way cooler."

"I like Strawberry Milk Girl!"

"They're both super cool," Yuuta said, nodding sagely. "But Cyborg Cider-man #2 and Peach-T Girl are the coolest ever."

Yuuta looked around quickly before leaning in closer and putting one hand to his mouth before whispering loudly. "You may not know cause they don't have their uniforms, but this is Cyborg Cider-man #2," Yuuta patted Kusuo's pink hair before motioning toward Teruhashi, "and Peach-T Girl."

Shock and awe sprung up on the twins' faces.

"Really?" Yuuko asked, almost starry-eyed. She went up on her knees to lean over Matsuzaki's lap, her twin braids falling over her shoulders, and squinted at Kusuo with a scrutinizing stare. Then her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh wow! It really is Cyborg Cider-man #2!"

"Shhh!" Yuuta said, pressing his finger to his lips. He looked around quickly—something Kusuo did as well because he really didn't want to deal with another mob of kids asking for his autograph—but fortunately, there was enough buzz of conversation to stop too many people from hearing Yuuko's shout.

Yuuko slapped her hands over her mouth and sent Yuuta a wide-eyed, muffled apology. "Sorry!"

"Yuu-chan," Teruhashi said, half rising to drop a hand on Yuuta's head with a scolding frown. "Don't be rude."

Reiko and Yuuko looked at Teruhashi in surprise before giggling to themselves. Reiko leaned over Matsuzaki's shoulder to whisper loudly to her twin.

"She sounds just like—"

"I know! It's so funny! Do you think—?"

"Well why else are we here if not—"

"We probably shouldn't—"

"Girls," Matsuzaki said, rubbing his temples with both hands. "Please stop talking over me."

"Sorry!" They said in tandem, still talking over him from shoulder and lap. Matsuzaki sighed.

The amphitheater was almost filled now, the flood of people that had pushed and jostled their way to the best seats as they filled the chairs from front to back, inside to outside, had slowed to barely a trickle. Kusuo was torn between sighing in relief that the main torture of this trip was almost over and groaning in disgust because the main torture of this trip was about to begin.

A warm, dainty hand fell over Kusuo's clenched fist and he started, his head snapping left to stare at Teruhashi who smiled up at him with a mixture of sympathy and amusement. "Only twenty-five minutes to go, Kusuo-kun."

His heart didn't flutter in his chest, it flipped. And his palms turned clammy. And a pit opened in his stomach. And his muscled turned hot and weak. And his head almost hurt but not quite.

And what the hell? Why was this happening?

_What **is** this_?

Whatever it was, Teruhashi didn't seem to feel it because she just patted his hand twice and pulled back. Kusuo had the most absurd urge to grab her hand and hold it, but he just clenched his fist tighter and coaxed Yuuta back into his seat between them. The boy protested, he'd been enjoying an inane conversation about the Cyborg Sentai with the twins.

"Yuu-chan, shush. The show is about to start."

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo sighed. _The sooner it begins, the sooner it's over._

"A quiet day in Tokyo," said a narrator with an over-dramatic voice. People began milling about the stage as lights all around the amphitheater dimmed leaving only the stage lights. The audience quieted slowly barring the occasional excited outburst of a child (Yuuta not excluded). "Calm. Peaceful. Effervescent."

_Effervescent? They do know this was a show for kids, right? Also, effervescent is practically the exact opposite of 'calm' and 'peaceful'. Morons._

"But what's this? A strange commotion in a downtown café! What could it possibly be?"

The door to Café Pseudo-Mami slams open, and a girl with bright pink hair tied up in two, curly buns on either side of her head bursts out. Her dress was pale blue at the top but faded to pink near the bottom and the whole thing had puffs of what looked like clouds sewn on at random. The flared skirt stopped well above her knees, but she had on a pair of pink tights that matched perfectly with the pink in her dress and a pair of tiny blue shoes with ribbons that laced almost to her knees topped with more puffy cloud on the toes.

She also had on a pair of bicep length gloves that faded from white to pink from the wrist down to her fingers. Her face was barely hidden behind a blue mask and her lavender eyes almost glimmered with glee as she raced into the street hauling a giant pink bag labeled "sugar" slung over her shoulder. Though considering its size, mass, and bulk, it was probably stuffed with cotton.

"What a haul!" The girl cackled wildly and Kusuo had to give her props. She was very happily in character. "Yet another store's sugar supply is all mine! It won't be long now until I own every single grain of sugar in the entire city!"

People around the girl scattered with screams of varying degrees of believable terror. One woman pointed mid-scream, one hand pressed to her cheek. "Oh no! It's Fairy Floss! Run everyone, run! She'll spin us all into cotton candy!"

"Too late!" Fairy Floss drew a long pink wand from what looked like a holster at her waist and twirled it like a ribbon dancer before pointing at the woman who had turned to run. "Ha hah! Taste my sweetness!"

The woman vanished, leaving a pile of pink cotton in her place.

_Well_, Kusuo thought, eyeing the cotton. _At least the effects are decent_.

He had, admittedly, seen the trap door open and a stagehand toss out the cotton from one of the fake building's windows, but he doubted too many others had. And if Yuuta was any indication, none of the kids in the audience had a clue.

Why Fairy Floss, though? She was one of Cyborg Ramune's main villains, not Cyborg Yakult. In fact, Kusuo was hard-pressed to remember any specific villain that was sworn enemies with Yakult. Thinking on it now, Kusuo would swear before a firing squad that there _wasn't_ one.

_Why waste **the** Mogami Toru on such an obscure Tantei member as Cyborg Yakult anyway? That drink isn't even aimed at kids!_

And yeah, sure, Kusuo found it fitting that Makoto ended up casted as basically a nobody, but that seemed pretty unexpected for someone wielding his level of star power.

_Ah_, Kusuo realized after taking a good, hard look around the audience. _They're all oba-sans_.

He sighed. This show may be aimed at kids, but it was targeting all the middle-aged housewives out there like his mother who were too gullible to see beyond the Perv's 'perfect face'.

Fairy Floss went on a rampage across the stage turning everyone in wand-range into piles of pink or blue cotton. At his side, Yuuta was curled up into a ball, his little hands fisted, as he glared at the stage.

"It will be all right, Cyborg Cider-man #2! Cyborg Yakult will stop her and turn everyone back to normal!" Yuuta flashed Kusuo a wide grin accompanied by a peace sign. "That's a promise!"

_I **really** wasn't worried_.

"What madness is this!" Makoto's irritating voice echoed through the entire room, though he was still hidden from view. "A fiend on the loose in my city? Not while I'm around!"

A spotlight snapped on, illuminating Makoto who stood atop one of the truncated buildings dressed in a one-piece white power suit with red accents, red boots and gloves, and a gleaming red helmet with a dark visor. Like most of the other Cyborg Tantei, he also wore a neckerchief, but his was light blue instead of the usual orange-red.

"I am the Cyborg Soldier of strength and wisdom!" Makoto announced, whipping his arms up and around in a series of poses. "Cyborg Yakult!" He paused with his left hand propped on his hip and his right forming a V over his eyes. "And in the name of Health, I will punish you!"

_Yare, yare_, Kusuo glared up at Makoto as a bead of sweat ran from his pink hair to the line of his jaw. _How stupid can one person possibly be_?

"It's Cyborg Yakult!" The cheer started on stage but was quickly taken up by the crowd and it was obvious Makoto was lapping it up like the dog he was.

"Hahahahaha!" Makoto leaped from atop the building (his fly-wires were decently hidden), flipped once in midair, and landed sure-footed in the middle of the street to strike another pose. This one the bastardized form of a fighting stance that left his core wide open and compromised his balance. No one in the crowd seemed to care one jot. Yuuta least of all.

"Cyborg Yakult! It's Cyborg Yakult! Look Cyborg Cider-man #2, it's Cyborg Yakult!"

_Yare, yare_. Kusuo pinched the bridge of his nose trying to ward off the headache mounting as hundreds of children and middle-aged women screamed their support for the idiot on stage.

"Hah!" Fairy Floss exclaimed. "Cyborg Yakult, is it? You dare attempt to take me on alone without the rest of the Cyborg Sentai as back up? How foolish you are!" She flung her wand in Makoto's direction and shouted, "Take this! My ultimate attack: Spun Sugar!"

Threads of what looked like silly string launched from the end of her wand, but Makoto dodged left and right to avoid being touched. Fairy Floss fell back with a look of shock. "Impossible! How could you evade my attack so easily?"

"You forget!" Makoto flung out a hand at her in what was probably meant to be a power pose and grinned so widely the overhead lights glinted off his perfect teeth. "Yakult is designed to boost one's energy and detox the body! Of all the Cyborg Sentai, I am by far the most healthy and fit! You don't stand a chance against my powers of fitness!"

_Is this seriously turning into a Yakult commercial for old geezers_?

"No!" Fairy Floss fell back, her expression twisted with rage. "I'll never allow myself to be defeated!" She cast her eyes around until they fell on Yuuta, sitting excitedly on the edge of her seat, and her face lit up. "Haha! A hostage!"

It took everything Kusuo had to keep his hands clenched around the arms of his chair as Fairy Floss flung her wand in Yuuta's direction and crowed "Seize him!"

Right on cue, a pair of grunts in one-piece power suits—one pink and the other blue—raced from the shadows to snatch Yuuta right out of his chair. Kusuo had known this would happen, Teruhashi had coached him at length and insisted that everything would be perfectly fine. Yuuta would be perfectly fine. The only reason Kusuo agreed was because of his proximity to the stage. He didn't trust Makoto to protect Yuuta from UV rays, forget bad guys. Even fake ones.

If this got out of hand or if Yuuta looked legitimately scared, Cyborg Cider-man #2 was going to make an unexpected appearance on stage.

"Ahh!" Yuuta flailed in the arms of his 'captors'. "Let me go you fiends! Let me go right now!"

"You wicked trickster!" Makoto exclaimed, falling back dramatically with his fisted hand held over his head. "How dare you drag an innocent child into our battle?"

Fairy Floss put the back of her finger against the side of her mouth and laughed. "Ohohohohoho! You call me wicked, Cyborg Yakult, but don't you know?" She grinned menacingly. "Children _hate_ Yaku—"

A crack echoed through the cavernous theater, making even Kusuo jump at the unexpected sound. Had something fallen backstage? Had a company vehicle backfired outside?

Up on stage, Fairy Floss stumbled backward two steps, her eyes wide in shock as she clutched her stomach. Dark red liquid stained her blue and pink dress a dark purple as it dripped to the ground in a steadily increasing puddle.

"Wh-what…?" Fairy Floss stared glassy-eyed at nothing as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "W-why…?"

Another crack, and this time Fairy Floss jerked backward as blood exploded from her forehead in a beaded arch as she fell backward in what seemed to be slow motion. In fact, _everything_ had slowed down in the achingly long seconds it took from when the shot connected to Fairy Floss slamming hard against the ground in a graceless sprawl, her lavender eyes still wide in death.

Silence. Pure, oppressive silence.

"H-hey." Makoto took a step toward the fallen girl, his rigid, heroic posture softened by shock and confusion. "What's going on? Why are you playing d—?"

Another crack. Makoto let out a truncated squawk as blood sprayed from his back and he too fell to the stage. He landed on his face, one arm stretched over his head and the other curled at his side.

"I found you." The voice was soft. Feminine. _Young_.

A girl of no more than fourteen stepped out of the shadows, a smoking pistol held in each hand. Her hair was long and dark, like liquid charcoal, and she had on what looked like a lavender junior high uniform paired with high black boots with a lavender diamond pattern running up the outside of each leg. Her eyes were the color of amethysts, but they held no life as she strode regally across the stage accompanied by a rippling wind that had to be artificial because the was no wind moving in the amphitheater. No one was even breathing.

"At long last, I've _finally_ found you." The girl's dead eyes focused unblinkingly on Yuuta, who was trembling minutely in Blue Minion's arms. She smiled. "Madoka."

* * *

Kaliea:...Soooooo, yeah. This is it. The thing I've been building up to from the beginning. If you thought the YYH stuff was crazy, you haven't seen _anything_ yet. Please keep in mind that I have warned you throughout this story that I planned to do something ridiculous. Well...here's the ridiculous. Surprise? ^-^;

Next chapter: Things Get Worse(tm)

Thanks for reading!


	26. Akemi Homura

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

* * *

…

…..

…..

…

.

* * *

**Akemi Homura**

"NII-SAN!" Teruhashi lunged from her chair and toward the stage. Kusuo was half a step behind, but the strange girl on stage was already turning. Her serene smile faded to an annoyed frown, her charcoal hair floating around her as she moved with deliberate, terrifying grace. Her lavender eyes fell on Teruhashi and narrowed just a fraction.

"How annoying." She raised her left pistol and squeezed the trigger. Panic flared within him, and Kusuo tapped into his spirit energy on pure instinct to propel himself forward and tackled Teruhashi around the waist. They went down hard, but Kusuo twisted at the last moment so his back slammed against the black-skirted stage at the same moment Teruhashi's chair back exploded.

The dense, terrified silence that had settled over the audience broke at once as people screamed and scrambled from their seats. Men and women trampled over one another as children shrieked and cried for their mothers. Kusuo watched it all with gritted teeth, hoping the girl wouldn't snap again and start shooting into the frantic crowd. Unfortunately, he had little time to spare a thought for everyone else; Teruhashi was writhing in his arms, screaming for her brother and demanding release.

"Let me go, please! Nii-san!"

"Teruhashi!" Kusuo wrapped his arms around her, pinning her flailing limbs to her side. "Calm down!"

"But Nii-san and—" She gasped, going shock still and tense. "…Yuu-chan…"

"Teru—"

"Yuu-chan!" Teruhashi leaped forward again, almost catching Kusuo by surprise before he dragged her back. "Let me go!"

"Teruhas—!"

"Yuu-chan!"

"Kokomi!" Kusuo spun her around in his arms and shook her, glaring into her shocked, teary eyes. "Calm down!"

"B-but…"

"I'll get him, you _know_ I will, but you can't go charging off like that. You'll get yourself killed!" His grip tightened on her upper arms, and he leaned in closer. "Stay here. I can't save Yuuta if I'm worried about you too."

"O-okay." She swallowed hard and clutched his shirt in both hands. "Be _careful_."

"Aa." He moved Teruhashi off his lap and extracted her hands from his shirt so he could peek over the edge of the stage. The girl had turned away from the panicked crowd and had all her attention focused on Yuuta, who stared at her with wide, frightened eyes while clinging to Blue Minion with all the strength in his tiny, trembling fists.

"Madoka," the girl said, sliding her guns into the round shield braced on her left forearm. "Don't be afraid. It's me, Homura." She took a step forward, her arms held out. "Don't you recognize me?"

Yuuta flinched away from the girl—Homura?—and buried his face in Blue Minion's chest.

"Hey now," Blue Minion said, his voice shaking as he took half a step back. "That's close enough."

Homura frowned at him. "Who are you? What are you to Madoka?" She took another step forward, her arms still held out. "You have no right to keep her from me. Give her to me, _now_."

"Look, you must have the wrong person." Blue Minion looked around with frantic, searching eyes as he backed quickly away from the approaching girl. "This kid is a boy, you know? A boy."

"Madoka is Madoka. The form she takes has nothing to do with the soul the body houses. Now _give her to me_."

Kusuo slapped his hand flat on the stage and used his arm to propel himself upward. He landed on the edge on the balls of his feet and rose slowly, his sudden appearance attracting the attention of both Homura and Blue Minion. More of that artificial wind rippled at Homura's hair and skirt, and somehow the rustle of fabric seemed to echo throughout the amphitheater despite the chaos still raging amongst the scattering audience.

"Cyborg Cider-man #2!" Yuuta shouted, releasing his death grip on Blue Minion's power suit to reach for Kusuo with both hands. "I don't like this show anymore, Cyborg Cider-man #2. I wanna go home!"

"Calm yourself, Madoka," Homura said, turning just enough to offer Yuuta a soft smile. "We'll be home soon enough. As for _you_." Homura's narrowed eyes shot to Kusuo, and she took a single step to the side so she was facing him almost head on. "Amamiya tells me you have been quite the nuisance, Saiki Kusuo. He says you are the reason I haven't been able to find Madoka these last six years."

"Who are you?" Kusuo demanded. He stood still, though everything inside him screamed at him to run to Yuuta and make sure he was safe. But doing that would focus her attention back on Yuuta. And as long as she was focusing on Kusuo, Blue Minion could continue his slow retreat off stage, taking Yuuta to safety. "What do you want with Yuuta?"

"I have no need of the boy," Homura said, her arms hanging loose at her sides. "It is his soul I need. I have been searching for her for a long time, many, many lifetimes. I won't lose her again."

Kusuo's blood ran cold. "You're saying you plan to kill him?"

Homura waved a dismissive hand. "Bodies come and go, but the soul is eternal. I shall extract it from the body and keep her close to my heart. Never again will she be lost or threatened or hurt. I will ensure that to my last speck of light."

"Your Madoka is gone, Homura," Kusuo said, inching left so she would adjust her stance to follow, taking Yuuta and Blue Minion out of her line of sight. "She's been Reborn. The person Yuuta used to be has no hold over the person he is now. Yuuta isn't Madoka. He's just Yuuta."

Homura's expression darkened, angry lines forming between her brows and beneath her eyes. "You're wrong! The soul is immortal, and it _always_ remembers! Whether in this life time or the next or the next or the next, Madoka will always be Madoka!"

She vanished, then. Disappearing from view so completely, Kusuo couldn't catch even a flash of her white uniform or charcoal hair. Then, just as suddenly, she reappeared right in front of him. She stood less than a foot away, her right hand extended all the way up so the gun she held pointed squarely between Kusuo's eyes. He threw himself backward in tandem with the barrel's explosive crack and fire lanced across his forehead from eyebrow to hairline.

Dropping to the stage, Kusuo rolled backward and came back to his feet at a crouch, his whole body tensed for a retaliatory strike, but she was gone again. His head jerked left and right, searching, when a flare of instinct made him look up. Homura fell from above, both guns in hand and pointed his way. Kusuo threw himself aside, dodging each bullet by a hair or less as he raced across the stage. Homura landed surefooted despite the impressive height she'd dropped from and swung her weapons around to follow him, firing all the while.

Needing cover, Kusuo swung himself around a nearby building, though the cheap plywood and thin plaster wouldn't do much to stop a .45. At least it took him out of her view for a second or two. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Kusuo's rapid-fire brain to analyze the situation and scramble for a counter.

"Wait, girls! Don't!" Matsuzaki's voice rose above the last remnants of the evacuating crowd, drawing Kusuo's attention. Uncertainty clenched his stomach as he ducked around the back of the half-constructed building and through the lattice of support beams that held it up from behind. He settled himself to the right of one of the large, plastic paned windows just in time to see Matsuzaki's twin nieces take a running leap up onto the stage.

_You have **got** to be kidding me._

"Hey you!" Reiko shouted, pointing at Homura with one hand, the other propped on her denim clad hip. "Who do you think you are coming in here and shooting the place up? Are you stupid, or something?"

"She's probably sad, Rei-Rei," Yuuko said, fingers laced in front of her as she cocked her head at the older girl. "Old people get sad a lot, and she's really, really, really old."

"Yeah, but old people get cranky too." Reiko shifted her pointing arm to her other hip and leaned forward with a smirk. "What about it, old lady? You cranky cause you missed your nap?"

Homura frowned at the girls. "I have no business with you, demons. Be gone."

"Ooo, did you hear that Rei-Rei? She called us _demons_!" Yuuko giggled. "You think she knows, or was that just a lucky guess?"

"She probably knows," Reiko said with a shrug. "After all, it takes one to know one."

"Yuuko-chan! Reiko-chan!" Yuuta's sudden shout made Kusuo start and his eyes snapped around to see Yuuta hanging over Blue Minion's shoulder where the man had stopped mid-sneak. They had almost been gone, damn it!

"Cyborg Cider-man #2 will handle that mean old lady! You guys run away quick before you get hurt!"

The twins each slapped a hand over their faces and groaned.

"Yuu-kun," Yuuko said. "You know we were distracting her, right? Now she remembers you're there."

"Remember?" Homura scoffed. "I never forgot."

Again, she disappeared only to reappear a second later in front of Blue Minion. Her gun was at his forehead. "I'm done playing games."

"Hyaa!" Reiko cried, appearing above and behind Homura to sweep a backward roundhouse kick at her head. Homura ducked and lashed out with the heel of her palm, catching Reiko in the chest hard enough to shove her backward and through the wall of a nearby building. Reiko shrieked.

"Rei-Rei!"

_Fuck_.

No time to think, Kusuo launched himself through the building's open door. He scooped a fallen book from the ground where one of the extras had dropped a backpack that split open in their rush to escape Fairy Floss's sugar attacks. He didn't think, didn't focus, just had a subconscious, repetitive need for this to _work_. The book began to glow with a pale red light, and Kusuo launched it at Homura who had turned her gun on Yuuko. The corner of the book slammed into Homura's left temple hard enough to throw her off her feet and into the air before she slammed against the stage almost two meters away.

Still running, Kusuo shortened his stride just enough to scoop Yuuko up by her waist and tuck her under his arm. He jumped through the hole Reiko's little body made in the prop wall, just barely clearing the broken plaster on all sides. He landed hard, crouched on one knee with Yuuko still under his arm, and looked around. Reiko had flown all the way to the support beams at the back of the building, cracking two of them and turning the entire structure unstable. Her little body was draped over another beam, and Kusuo choked on his heart as it thudded in his throat.

There was no way she wasn't dead.

"Rei-Rei!" Yuuko wriggled and pushed her way out of Kusuo's grip, which surprised him because even without his psychic powers, he was much stronger than normal humans, but Yuuko had escaped him with relative ease. "Rei-Rei! Are you okay?"

Reiko groaned, nearly shocking Kusuo out of his skin, and levered herself up on the beam beneath her stomach. "That…_hurt_…"

Her voice was choked and there were tears in her eyes, but she wasn't dead.

_Why isn't she dead_?

Kusuo shook his head. He'd deal with that insanity later. "Stay here, understand?"

Both girls looked up at him, their expressions differing levels of shocked. "But—!"

"Stay!" Leaving the two behind, and hoping they would listen rather than expecting them to, Kusuo sprinted from the building. Against logic, Homura had climbed to her feet. Blood slid down her cheek from the gash in her temple, Kusuo could actually see a dent in her skull, but the injury didn't seem to bother her at all. Blood dripped from her chin, staining her uniform in spatters, and she glared at Kusuo as he stepped back through the hole. She was between him and Yuuta still, and Blue Minion didn't look at all interested in escaping because Homura once again had a gun pointed at his head.

"I didn't think you would be so much trouble without your powers, but I suppose you had them for too long to not be altered, even as an ordinary man." Her dull eyes narrowed. "How annoying."

"You never answered my question," Kusuo said, trying to figure out a way to get that gun pointed away from Yuuta. "Who are you?"

"Akemi Homura," she said. "I am a magical girl from another world."

Kusuo's eyebrows shot up. "A _magical girl_?"

"Yes." She cocked her head, an almost amused look on her face. "Does that surprise you, Former Psychic-san?" The amusement on her face evaporated. "You have been keeping her from me for years, Saiki Kusuo. Shielding her from my senses with your uncontrollable aura. I hate you for that, but I suppose I owe you as well. If you hadn't removed your powers when you did, it would have taken years more before I found her again."

"Who was this Madoka to you? Why are you looking for her?"

"Why does anyone search for someone they've lost? I swore that I would protect her, that I would save her from the pains of this world. I won't let anyone stand in my way. Not even her new self."

The second gun reappeared in her left hand, and she aimed it at Kusuo. "And especially not you."

With Homura's attention diverted, Blue Minion turned to run. The gun cracked and Blue Minion's head explode, spattering the stage with blood and brain matter. Yuuta screamed.

"No! No, no, no! I wanna go home! Home! Cy-sa-ani-ni!" Yuuta sobbed, having clearly lost control of his voice, and that caused a sharp pain in Kusuo's chest. The boy was terrified. "Aniki!"

Kusuo jolted at the title. From the moment they first met, Yuuta hadn't never called him anything but Cyborg Cider-man #2, but there was no doubt in Kusuo's mind just who exactly Yuuta wanted, and there was no way he would let the boy down.

Homura looked down at the boy, a discontented frown on her lips. Kusuo took advantage of her distraction to begin channelling spirit energy into his finger. It was easier than the first time, but Kusuo also noticed that the amount of energy he managed to gather wasn't at the same level as before.

_Is it because of the book?_

"I don't understand," Homura said to herself. "Why is she so afraid?"

"Akemi Homura!"

Homura turned at the sound of her name, her frown transitioning to a full scowl. "What, Saiki Kusuo?"

Kusuo raised his glowing finger and pointed squarely at her chest. "Spirit gun."

As before, saying the words aloud squeezed the mental trigger and the energy bullet shot forward like a pale red comet. Homura's eyes widened at the sight, her head cocking as if in fascination.

And then she disappeared.

Kusuo's energy bullet kept going, plowing through the plywood set before arching up at an angle and breaking through the ceiling to disappear into the atmosphere.

_Damn it_! He felt completely drained after shooting off so much energy. He could barely lift his arms anymore and his legs were so weak they'd gone numb. What now?

"I'll admit that I am impressed, Saiki Kusuo," Homura said from behind Kusuo's back. " I didn't think you would discover your spirit energy so quickly or manage to control it so easily."

Kusuo spun around, but Homura was already gone.

"I feel like I should know you, Saiki Kusuo." Again she spoke from behind him, and again she was gone before he turned. "Your soul pulses to a familiar rhythm, and yet, I cannot place it."

"Maybe we were enemies in another life," Kusuo said, turning again and missing her again. "Because I can't imagine we would have been friends."

"I don't have friends."

"Oh?" Kusuo didn't move this time. What was the point? "Then what was Madoka, then? A tool? A possession?"

As he anticipated, Homura reappeared right in front of him, her face twisted ugly with rage. "Madoka is mine."

Having predicted where she would be, Kusuo was already throwing a punch with the last of his minuscule energy. Homura didn't disappear this time, she flickered. One second, Kusuo's fist was aimed perfectly for the dent in her head, but in an eye blink, she was a full step backward and out of range. His follow through dragging him off balance, Kusuo stumbled to his knees. Panting, he braced himself with trembling arms and ordered himself to stand. He would not lose! He _couldn't_; not when Yuuta needed him!

Once again, the barrel of a gun was pointed dead center at Kusuo's forehead. Homura didn't look triumphant or pleased; she didn't look like anything. Her face had returned to its empty expression, her lavender eyes narrowed just slightly but without any emotion to give them life.

"Good-bye, Saiki Kusuo."

Kusuo squeezed his eyes shut. _Fuck_.

"No!"

_Yuuta_?!

Eyes flying open once again, Kusuo was shocked to see Yuuta attached to Homura's leg. He was crying—sobbing, even—with his green hair uncovered and wild. He had blood and brains on his shirt, an his skin was streaked as if he'd tried to brush the mess off his arms and legs. His shoes and socks were gone, though Kusuo couldn't imagine why.

"Don't hurt Aniki! Don't!"

Homura's dead eyes softened as she looked down at Yuuta before looking away with a sigh. "You always did have a soft heart, Madoka."

Homura shot one last look down at Kusuo, debating, then slipped her gun into the shield on her wrist. "Fine. For Madoka's sake, I'll let you live. For now."

Bending down, she lifted Yuuta into her arms and gently patted his back as he sobbed, arms around her neck, and begged her not to hurt his Aniki.

"Until next time, Saiki Kusuo."

And then Homura disappeared with Yuuta in tow.

* * *

Kaliea: So for those of you still wondering, the second anime cross-over is, in fact, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I know, that seems completely out of left field, but I did say I was pretty sure no one would guess it ^-^;

That said, there are a few things in this chapter that need addressed. First off, I apologize for the Yuuta/Yuuko names. I realize they are very close and could quite possibly be misread, but I've had the twins' names chosen months before I even started writing this story, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting Yuuko and Reiko to ever meet Yuuta. But inspiration is a strange thing that unfolds in the strangest ways. I'll try to figure out something different moving forward to differentiate between Yuuta and Yuuko better, but for now, I just have to say I'm sorry.

As for how this chapter ended, I went back and forth on whether or not I should have Yuuta get kidnapped. There were compelling reasons for both sides as to whether or not Homura would succeed, but it all came down to her intentions. Up until this chapter, I wasn't entirely sure what Homura planned to do with Madoka's reincarnation, but when her motives became clear, I knew which decision I had to make. That said, the next chapter will probably surprise you.

Also, I realize that last paragraph was probably super vague and confusing. Sorry; I didn't want to risk any major spoilers. I will say, however, that I did set up what I have planned, but the outcome will require a working knowledge of YYH, so for those of you who haven't seen it, I'll make sure to explain properly next chapter.

As always, thank you for reading!

Best,

Kaliea


	27. Right Here

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

* * *

_This is supposed to be a fucking **comedy**!_

* * *

**Right Here**

Someone was screaming. It was a low, angry, desperate, visceral sound. Kusuo didn't care who it was; his strength had given out the moment Homura vanished. His numb, trembling legs went out at the knees, dropping him unceremoniously, and he'd fisted his fingers into the legs of his khakis. He couldn't think, couldn't move, he couldn't even breathe. Yuuta was gone and it was _his_ fault. He should have known something would happen, should have prepared for it, but the threat had been so distant, so abstract, so _surreal_. A large part of him hadn't believed there was a threat at all. But now, _now_…

Kusuo's lungs burned and his vision blurred from lack of air and probably shock, and all throughout, that low scream continued.

_Is that **me**_?

"—uo-kun!"

Who was that? Small but strong hands took a firm grip on his shoulders and shook hard enough to rattle his vision.

"Kusuo-kun!"

_Teruhashi_?

"Kusuo!" A sharp sting whipped across his face and the screaming stopped with a gasp. Teruhashi's face appeared from the vaguely colored blur the world had melded into, but even faintly smudged, she looked terrified. Her face was pallid and dark bruises had begun forming beneath her eyes from worry. Her hair was a disheveled mess and she had smears of blood on her arms, face, and across the chest of her dress. That shocked him more than the slap.

_What the fuck happened_?!

"Teruhashi!" Kusuo grabbed her wrists and pulled her close so he could look her over. He didn't see any cuts or tears in her clothing. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Teruhashi blinked, bewildered. "N-nothing! I'm fine, I just…I'm so sorry I hit you but…" Tears glazed her indigo eyes. "Y-you were screaming…"

"Forget it." Kusuo really couldn't care less as he looked her over again, determining for sure that the blood wasn't hers. That she was fine. Relief hit him hard, but with that relief came realization.

_Yuuta_…

"Fuck…"

"K-Kusuo-kun?"

"Fuck!" He clutched Teruhashi's hands, his head bowed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!"

"Kusuo!"

He ignored Teruhashi's scandalized tone and gritted his teeth. He lost Yuuta! He _lost_ him! The boy was probably terrified and traumatized and calling for him as if Kusuo could actually do a damn fucking thing to save him!

_Save him? I don't even know how to **find** him_!

"Kusuo-kun!" Teruhashi was shaking him. "Kusuo! _Please_ don't make me slap you again." Her voice was raw and nasally from tears. "We have to get out of here before she comes back!"

…_Comes back_?

His head snapped up, and he stared at her with wide eyes. "She's _coming back_?"

"As soon as she realizes what happened, she will." Understanding flashed across Teruhashi's face and she grasped his cheeks with both hands. "Yuu-chan is fine! You saved him."

Kusuo winced. Did she really believe in him so much that she couldn't fathom the fact that he'd failed so horrendously? Had she somehow missed Yuuta being disappeared by that insane, murderous school girl?

Teruhashi tugged on his face, nearly pulling Kusuo off balance and his eyes snapped toward hers on instinct.

"Yuu-chan is _fine_, Kusuo. But he won't be if we don't leave right now. No!" She cut him off before he could even open his mouth. "I'll explain later, but Nii-san needs a hospital and probably that little girl too; Matsuzaki-sensei's niece. Except he's not actually Matsuzaki-sensei, but…" She shook her head and took his hands, pulling him as hard as she could. "We need to _go_."

Unable to understand, comprehend, recognize, register what she was saying, Kusuo let Teruhashi pull him to his feet. His legs shook beneath him, nearly dragging them both back down when his knees gave out. Teruhashi grunted as she braced him up, then slipped under his arm and wrapped hers around his back to support him. Together, they ambled backstage, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous room and Kusuo suddenly realized everyone must have made it outside while he was fighting. Strangely, no one else had arrived in the interim; no police, no curious onlookers, not even park security.

Vague memories of active shooter training nudged at Kusuo's brain. Was this even considered an active shooter situation anymore or was it a hostage situation? Or maybe both?

_Yare, yare. I can't **think**_.

He had never been so exhausted in his life.

"I met with Matsuzaki-sensei when I tried to pull Nii-san off the stage. He's not dead, but he's bleeding and he looks so pale and I was so _scared_." Her voice broke a little as she spoke, but she kept on talking like she hadn't even noticed. "And of course he's so much stronger than me that he was able to pick Nii-san up and carry him backstage. He had me put pressure on the bullet wound so it would stop bleeding, but the bullet got stuck inside so he'll probably n-need s-s-surgery."

Kusuo really didn't care about Teruhashi Makoto, but he was too tired to say so, and there was some distant, vague part of his brain that told him that saying anything to that effect would be a terrible idea anyway. Instead, he grunted a vague assent. Maybe he could use Makoto as an excuse to shake Teruhashi off and stumble back onstage. If Akemi Homura was going to return, Kusuo would be damned if he wasn't there to meet her. He would get Yuuta back if it _killed_ him—

"Aniki!" A small, human bullet slammed into Kusuo's stomach and knocked him and Teruhashi both off balance. Too exhausted to brace himself, never mind Teruhashi, all three collapsed to the backstage floor.

"Itai-tai-tai," Teruhashi said, pushing herself up and rubbing her elbow. "Are you okay Kusuo?" She frowned. "Yuu-chan, you're not supposed to jump at people. We've _told_ you that."

"Sorry!" Yuuta said, his voice muffled in Kusuo's stomach. "I didn't mean to!"

Kusuo was numb. He had literally no thoughts. How could he have thoughts? Everything he'd thought over his entire life had been entirely wrong in one way or the other. Kusuo wasn't randomly a psychic; there really was an explanation for that. Kusuo hadn't been the most powerful being on Earth; not even close. His powers weren't a horrible burden; they'd actually been saving him and his friends. Teruhashi wasn't a empty-calorie pretty girl; she was a real, complex person. Yuuta wasn't spirited away; he was right here.

_He's **right here**? _Kusuo started and looked down at the boy's green hair._ **How**?_

"Where's Nii-san and the twins, Yuu-Chan?"

"They went back there." Yuuta extracted himself from Kusuo just enough to point further backstage toward what looked like a line of dressing rooms. "Koko-chan said she's gotta call her daddy."

"Well don't you all look like shit."

The voice sent a shock through Kusuo from head to toe, and he jolted upright as that shock sharpened to an instinctual panic. Something heavy, oppressively so, had filled the stage as if it were an aquarium suddenly filled to the brim with freezing water. Kusuo wrapped Teruhashi and Yuuta into his arms and twisted as best he could to shield them as he glared up at this new enemy.

Urameshi Yusuke stood motionless a meter away dressed in a pair of jeans, white sneakers, and a red tank top. Black marks, almost like tribal tattoos, decorated his shoulders, collarbone, and forearms as wisps of energy wafted off his bare skin like evaporating blood. A minute tremor went through Kusuo's whole body as he stared up at the man. Gone was his congenial attitude and school boy grin. This was a man possessed by something dark. Something _evil_.

This man was a demon.

"Koko told me you saved her and Rei," Urameshi said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Looks like you're not completely worthless." He looked Kusuo over with a critical eye before looking away again with a scoff. "Not like I have any room to talk. That Amamiya punk caught me off guard; I didn't realize I'd gotten so rusty these last few years. Good thing the Makai Tournament is coming up soon."

Kusuo said nothing; he couldn't even if he tried. The air was so stifling, he could barely breathe, and going by the light, choking gags from Teruhashi and Yuuta, he wasn't the only one. He cut a glare at Urameshi and rubbed a hand over Yuuta's chest to try and stimulate his lungs. Urameshi blinked down at them.

"Oh, right." The red energy radiating from him died down, taking the tattoos and suffocating atmosphere with it. Teruhashi gasped and fell forward, clutching the chest of her bloodied dress with both hands.

"Sorry about that, kiddies. But there's no time to catch your breath. We need to get the hell out of here and regroup. This whole circus has gotten way out of hand."

"Yusuke, you jerk! Look what you did to that poor girl!"

He turned at the woman's voice, his teeth gritted. "Damn it, Keiko! I told you to stay with the twins!"

"Oh shut up. Just because we're married doesn't mean you own me." The woman was shorter than Urameshi by a good 15-cm with long chestnut hair and warm brown eyes the same shade as the twins'. She knelt in front of Kusuo, who still had his arms around Yuuta and Teruhashi. Yuuta had recovered remarkably quickly from Urameshi's oppressive aura, but Teruhashi was still choking and coughing between ragged gasps.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" The woman—Urameshi Keiko?—reached for Teruhashi, but Kusuo jerked her back. Keiko blinked at him, surprised, before a soft smile tugged at her lips. "It's okay; I'm not going to hurt her. I have medicine to help her breathe."

Keiko held out a jar of some sort of paste with a strong menthol scent. "Yusuke forgets that normal people aren't able to handle him at even half strength anymore. This will help her, I promise."

Kusuo hesitated but ultimately shifted his arm from around Teruhashi's shoulders to around her waist, giving Keiko access to her patient. Keiko quirked an amused eyebrow but didn't say anything as she reached for Teruhashi and started unbuttoning her dress. Blushing, Kusuo looked down at Yuuta, still unable to believe the boy was actually there.

"Did you contact Kuwabara?" Keiko asked as she dug into the jar and the menthol smell intensified. She smeared the concoction on Teruhashi's bra-covered chest, and Kusuo had to jerk his eyes away again when he realized he'd been watching.

"And Botan. He'll pop into Reikai to grab her first so she can deal with the girl's brother."

A golden light cut through the air with the sound of a Star Wars lightsaber. Kusuo jumped at the noise before relaxing; it was the same noise Natsuko's naginata had made.

The air split, revealing what looked like a corporate office on steroids—the place was huge—before Kuwabara's tall, broad frame filled the space. He stepped through and reached back for the woman behind him. She slipped her pale, delicate hand into his larger calloused one and stepped onto the stage. The second she was free, the glowing fissure closed and both Kuwabara and the girl's silhouettes lighted properly. Kuwabara looked the same except his clothes—jeans and a black t-shirt—but the girl was unexpected. She had cotton-candy blue hair and amethyst eyes that seemed to shine with their own inner light.

"Hello, Yusuke, Keiko." The blunette girl, who didn't look much older than Kusuo himself, saluted the Urameshi's. "Where's the patient?"

Keiko pointed further backstage. "With the twins. Do what you can here, but we're all heading back to the temple as soon as I'm done here."

"Right." With a two fingered salute, the blunette disappeared down the hall to peak her head through the door of each room until she found the one Makoto was in. As in, she _literally_ stuck her head through the doors. Kusuo gaped. He would never get used to the utter weirdness that had invaded his supposed to be ordinary life.

"Looks like you got your ass handed to you, Saiki," Kuwabara said as he stepped up beside Kusuo and looked down on the huddled trio. Kusuo glared at the man and shifted just enough to take Teruhashi's mostly naked chest out of the old punk's line of sight. Kuwabara snorted.

"As if, kid. I've got my darling Yukina. I would never dishonor her, and especially not over a little girl."

Kusuo scowled at the 'little girl' comment only because Teruhashi was older than him. Only by ten days, but still. If Teruhashi was considered a little girl by these people then did they also see him as a 'little boy'?

_But then, considering how spectacularly I failed today, do I really have the right to complain_?

"There you go, sweetie," Keiko said as she sat back on her heels and capped the cream jar. Teruhashi was certainly breathing easier now, and she sighed with relief as she buttoned up her dress.

"Thank you, but…um…" Teruhashi looked around, her wary eyes falling on Urameshi and Kuwabara. "Who exactly are you people?"

_Oh, right. She's never met them_.

"The name's Kuwabara Kazuma, little lady." Kuwabara grinned and jerked a thumb at his face. "I'm Natsuko's father."

Teruhashi blinked, and Kusuo didn't need telepathy to read her thoughts. And neither, apparently, did Kuwabara. The older man shrugged, unperturbed by Teruhashi's unspoken incredulity.

"Natsu may get her coloring from me, but she's her mother's daughter through and through."

Teruhashi blushed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you think…that is…You're a handsome man, but she's just so…"

Kuwabara threw his head back and laughed. "You hear that Urameshi? I'm a handsome man!"

Urameshi snorted. "Well, there's no accounting for taste."

"Oh, knock it off you too." Keiko stood and brushed off her burgundy pants. "My name is Urameshi Keiko, and that idiot over there is my husband Yusuke. I'm sorry again for the pain he caused you. He never learned to think before he acts."

"Hey you guys," the blunette called as she stuck her head and shoulders through the closed door of the room Makoto and the twins were apparently holed up in. "I've stopped the bleeding and started treating him for shock, but the bullet is lodged in his collar bone. We need to get him to Kurama-kun before an infection sets in."

"Well," Kuwabara said, rolling his shoulders and popping his knuckles. "I guess that's my cue."

"Hold off a minute." Yusuke waved a stalling hand and jogged for the back room. "I'll grab the kids and that guy."

"Here." Keiko offered Teruhashi a hand up and she took it after a quick glance at Kusuo. He nodded almost in-perceptively. Despite everything that had happened, he felt he could trust these people. At least for now.

"Aniki?" Yuuta tugged on Kusuo's collar, his eyes still a bit teary. "Are we going home now?"

"Soon, Yuuta," Kusuo returned. "We have to make a stop first. I'll call your parents when we get there."

Seemingly pacified, Yuuta nodded and snuggled into Kusuo's chest. Kusuo didn't hesitate to cradle the boy close with both hands, and it seemed Teruhashi felt similarly because she stepped close and rubbed a hand over the boy's small back. Her eyes caught Kusuo's over Yuuta's head and she offered him a shaky smile.

"I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life."

"Aa."

Teruhashi's left hand rose to cover Kusuo's as her right continued to rub soothing circles across Yuuta's back. "Thank you, Kusuo-kun. You saved him. You saved everyone."

Kusuo scowled and jerked his hand away. "I didn't save anyone. That bitch was toying with me the whole time."

"Stop that." Teruhashi popped Kusuo's shoulder just hard enough to sting. "You did everything you could, Kusuo-kun. Don't even try to tell me you didn't. And even if Yuuta had been taken—which he _wasn't_—I don't doubt for a second you would do everything in your power to get him back."

Frowning, Kusuo looked down at her. How could she possibly have so much faith in him? And why? He'd spent the last five years lying to her, keeping her at arms length and beyond, playing with her heart and head, and yet she still believed him to be the very best of men. There was not even a hint of doubt in her expression, her body language, her tone of voice. She honestly believed every thing she said, and Kusuo couldn't for the life of him understand _why_.

"You called me Kusuo before."

Teruhashi met his gaze squarely, almost challengingly. "You called me Kokomi before."

Kusuo's eyebrows shot up. _Did I really_?

"If you two kids are done flirting," Kuwabara said, startling the two apart as they turned to face him, "we're all set over here."

"Yare, yare," Kusuo said before motioning Teruhashi toward the gathering at the center of the back stage. "Stay close, Teruhashi. You don't want to get caught halfway through the portal when it closes."

Teruhashi blinked. "What?"

A gold energy sword ignited in Kuwabara's fist, humming and buzzing as he lifted it for a diagonal slash.

"SAIKI KUSUO!" The shriek echoed through the entire amphitheater and chilled Kusuo down to his bones.

"Well shit," Urameshi said. "Time's up kiddies."

Kuwabara slashed the air and opened a hole in space directly to the temple compound. "Everyone through!"

Urameshi ushered his daughters and wife through first before following quickly with Makoto draped across his back. Kusuo nudged Teruhashi forward with his elbow, but she barely shifted as she stared at the hole in the air with shock and a bit of terror. She clearly hadn't seen the portal Kuwabara had arrived through, or at least hadn't registered what exactly it was.

"No dawdling, dear," the blunette said as she grabbed Teruhashi's hand and dragged her through the hole. "We really don't want to get caught up on this side. That girl may be small, but Koenma-sama says she not someone to take lightly."

"You next, Saiki," Kuwabara said, but Kusuo was already stepping through the portal.

A loud crack echoed across the stage and Kusuo braced himself around Yuuta, praying the bullet wouldn't go straight through him and into the child. But no pain came. Instead, Kuwabara grunted and shoved Kusuo hard from behind.

"Get out of here, you idiot!"

Kusuo tripped on the gash and tumbled through. He hit the paved courtyard hard and rolled to protect Yuuta from the shock of the fall. Coming to a stop on his back, Kusuo turned onto his side just in time to see the portal collapse into a thin black line before disappearing entirely.

Leaving Kuwabara on the other side with Akemi Homura.

* * *

Kaliea: And so ends Part Two. Part Three, we learn some of what happened while Kusuo and Kokomi were at the park with Yuuta. Be prepared for some deaths.

Thanks for reading!


	28. Where the Morgue Is

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

* * *

_Yare, yare. Somehow this day has been both one of the best and the absolute worst days of my life, and it's barely half over! Still, if there's one positive take-away from all this, Yuuta is still safe and with me. Sure, Kuwabara is gone, but he's at least twice my age, a life-long fighter, and part god, so I'm really not that worried about him. Plus, now that we're at the temple again, Teruhashi's brother can get looked at. I personally couldn't give a shit if the guy lives or dies (I may or may not be silently rooting for the latter), but Teruhashi cares, so it's good he's getting the help he needs. I guess._

_Urameshi put us all in the care of his wife Keiko-san who took us to see Yukina-san, who is pretty shaken up over her husband's disappearance but is otherwise holding up remarkably well. I imagine that after having your husband torn to pieces and his soul kidnapped, a minor disappearing act just can't compare, even if he did disappear in the company of a deranged, murderous psychopath._

_(We didn't tell her that part.)_

_Anyway, Yukina-san showed us to a set of rooms we can use while staying at the temple, but I don't plan to be here long enough to make use of it—aside from Yuuta who already fell asleep. Unfortunately, before I can leave, I need to get ahold of my and Yuuta's parents, and it seems my and Teruhashi's phones managed to disappear in the chaos of the park, so now I need to find a landline._

_Yare, yare._

* * *

**Where the Morgue Is**

"Please take all the time you need," Yukina said, her voice soft but her expression drawn and tired as she motioned toward the old rotary phone sitting on a narrow cabinet in the middle of the hall. Kusuo bowed.

"Thank you, Yukina-san."

She smiled wanly and returned his bow politely before stepping out of the hall and into the main sitting room where Urameshi and his wife were waiting for Kuwabara to pop back up.

Kusuo dialed his home first and waited as it rang, rang, rang. His brow furrowing, Kusuo ran through the numbers mentally, just to make sure he'd dialed them correctly. He had. The phone rang, rang, rang.

Stomach twisting in on itself, Kusuo blocked the dangerous thoughts that tried to manifest. Thoughts that said his parents were home but unable to come to the phone because Homura made a stop before going to Universal Studios…

_Click_. Relief washed over him as the receiver was picked up, and he opened his mouth to acknowledge his mother—

"Kusuo."

_Kusuke_?

Kusuo closed his eyes and clutched the phone so hard the plastic creaked beneath his hand. _Fuck_.

"What happened, Kusuke."

"You weren't here," Kusuke said, his voice low and strained. Kusuo had never heard his brother sound so lost before. So unsure of himself and…broken. "If you were here, it wouldn't have happened."

"_What_ wouldn't have happened? Where's Mom?"

"Hospital. They're not sure she'll walk again."

"_What the fuck happened, Kusuke_?"

"You weren't here."

"Kusuke—!"

His brother hung up.

"Kusuke!" Kusuo slammed the phone back into the cradle. "Fuck!"

"Kusuo?" Teruhashi came up behind him and grasped his sleeve. "What happened?"

"I don't know! That idiot Kusuke didn't tell me _anything_! He just said…he said my mother…she…" Kusuo's stomach lurched. _They don't know if she'll walk again_. Kusuo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. _What happened while I was gone_?

Teruhashi wrapped her hands around Kusuo's arm and pulled him around, her hand coming up to nudge his chin so they were eye to eye. "Breathe, Kusuo. Just breathe."

_I don't remember how_.

"Kusuo." She tapped his face with her fingertips, not hard enough to be a slap but with enough sting to center him. Kusuo gasped, the red haze in his brain retreating just enough for the world to reform around him. "There you go. Just keep breathing."

Kusuo took another breath, then another, then a deeper one.

"Have you tried Yuu-chan's parents yet?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want me to call?"

There was a brief pause before he shook his head again. "I'll do it. Thank you, Teruhashi, but I need you with Yuuta right now. I don't want him alone."

Teruhashi smiled softly and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Okay. But call me if you need me."

He nodded but didn't move another inch as Teruhashi backed away until her fingertips brushed along his jaw and disappeared from his face entirely. She vanished back down the hall, only two doors away from where Kusuo stood but the distance may as well be a widening cavern. Taking another deep, shaky breath, Kusuo turned back to the phone and lifted the handset. He tried home again first.

This time, it only rang four times before Kusuke picked up.

"What do you want, Kusuo?"

"I want to know what happened," Kusuo said, forcibly keeping his calm. "You said Mom is in the hospital. Where's Dad?"

"…The hospital, I suppose." A long, contemplative pause. "I guess that's where the morgue is."

…_morgue_…

"He's dead?"

"…yeah. He was shot in the head. To protect Mom. I…I didn't get here in time to save him."

"Who was it, Kusuke?" His stomach roiled, his heart ached, and his whole body burned from the inside out. "Who killed him? Who hurt Mom?"

"A girl."

Kusuo stifled a hiss. _Akemi_ _Homura_.

"Or maybe a woman? Your age, maybe. Definitely younger than me."

_My age?_ Kusuo frowned. _Not Akemi Homura, then._

"What did she look like?"

"Blonde hair, gold eyes. Average height." Another pause. "I think she was western. Maybe American. I'm not sure."

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. How could Kusuke not know if the woman was American or not? He'd spent the last six years of his life in England!

_He's in shock_, Kusuo reminded himself. _He can't process properly because he doesn't know what he's feeling._

Kusuo could relate.

"When did it happen?"

"This morning. I tried to call, but you didn't answer your phone."

_Because I put it on silent last night. _He always did that before going to bed, but with the chaos of the morning, he'd forgotten to turn the volume back up.

"Sorry."

Kusuke snorted. "Cause your sorry makes a difference."

It couldn't, and it didn't make Kusuo any better to have said it, but saying nothing just seemed wrong. Callous.

_Yare, yare, how am I even feeling right now?_

Honestly? He was just numb; any other emotions he felt were buried so far beneath the surface he wasn't even sure if they were there.

"Do you know where I am, Kusuke?"

"You went off my radar about twenty minutes ago."

Well, it was good to know Kusuke didn't have a means of spying on the temple compound. Because if Kusuke couldn't find it, Kusuo sincerely doubted Akemi Homura or her flunkies could.

"Are Yuuta's parents home?" Kusuo asked expecting a negative; the reason he was watching Yuuta in the first place was because his parents were supposed to be out of town.

"No. But someone wrecked their house. I noticed when I flew in to rescue Mom and Dad…well…to rescue Mom."

"Okay, thanks…" Kusuo glanced at the closed door of the sitting room where he could hear the Urameshis conversing lowly with Yukina and the blue-haired girl named Botan. "I'll see if I can send someone to get you."

"…Fine." Kusuke hung up, and Kusuo did the same with a sigh. He still didn't feel anything, which meant he was probably in Fight mode instead of Flight. He needed to focus on the things he could do, not on the things he couldn't change. Later, though…Just…_later_…

Kusuo swiped the cell number for Yuuta's mother into the rotary dial and waited for her to pick up. It rang once before the phone connected with, "We're sorry, but the number you have dialed is unknown or disconnected. Please check your number or try again later."

_Yare, yare,_ Kusuo thought as he hung up. _I have a bad feeling about this…_

He tried again and got the same message. Gritting his teeth, Kusuo hung up again. He stood in the hall, motionless and trying to reign in his growing nausea as he tried to convince himself that he'd just called the wrong number. Except he had an eidetic memory, so he couldn't have remembered it wrong, but surely there was a _chance_.

Shaking his head, Kusuo picked up the handset and rang Yuuta's father. It was answered almost immediately.

"This is Dr. Arisawa Ami," an unknown woman said, and Kusuo irrationally hoped that Iridatsu Kouta was having an affair. "May I ask who you are?"

"…My name is Saiki Kusuo," he said. "Why do you have Iridatsu-san's phone?"

"Iridatsu-san?" There was a brief pause, but Kusuo could hear scratching as if she was writing something down. "May I ask your relationship to this Iridatsu-san?"

_Fuck_.

"He's my next-door neighbor. I'm watching his son."

"I see. I should really be talking to a family member…"

**_Fuck_**.

"I've been trying to contact his wife, but she isn't answering her phone, and I don't know any other family members." Kusuo swallowed down his mounting panic and cleared his throat. "Iridatsu-san's son is in danger, and so are Iridatsu Kouta-san and his wife by extension. Please tell me if he's all right."

"…I'm afraid not. At least, assuming the man who came into my lab today is Iridatsu-san. I would need you or someone who knew him to identify him for certain." Dr. Arisawa's tone softened. "I am the coroner for Sapporo City General Hospital. A man in possession of this phone was signed in this morning with fourth degree burns from head to foot."

Kusuo hissed, trying to deflate the sudden burning pain in his chest. **_What_**?

"Any identification he had was lost, and his phone is heavily encrypted so I can answer it, but not open it."

"If…" Kusuo swallowed and started again. "If he has burns all over his body, how do you know it's Iridatsu-san? Isn't it possible he just dropped his phone and this is someone else?"

It really wasn't fair of Kusuo to hope for such a thing, but he didn't know the people who were friends and family to a stranger. Kouta he knew and liked, and more important, he was Yuuta's father.

"It's possible. Before, it was out best hope of attaining an ID, but with the information you gave, we can request his dental work to verify if he is who we think he is."

"…How long will that take?"

"It depends," Arisawa said, her tone shifting down. She cleared her throat lightly and continued. "Depending on when we get ahold of his dentist office, whether we need a subpoena, how soon the documents can be transferred…It could be as soon as this evening or as long as three days from now. I don't suppose you know who his dentist is?"

"No. I'm just a neighbor who watches his son sometimes."

"I see. Well, I suppose I ought to get searching. Thank you for calling, Saiki-san. I'll do my best to keep you posted on our progress."

Kusuo nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Thank you. Oh, and Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Iridatsu-san is from Tokyo. He was in Hokkaido for business, but I'm afraid I don't know any more than that."

"No, thank you, that was very helpful."

"Okay."

An awkward silence followed.

_Yare, yare._

"Okay," Arisawa said. "Well, goodbye, Saiki-san."

Kusuo nodded again. "Yeah."

He carefully settled the phone back on its cradle and stood staring at it for a long, long time.

What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

Kaliea: So the deaths of Yuuta's parents is something I've been planning from the beginning, but I've gone back and forth on Kusuo's parents for months. Should I kill just one or both? Or maybe neither? In the end, I settled for just his Dad because as ridiculous as the man can be, he has a lot of good points and I wanted to give him a hero moment before he died. Of course, we're dealing with Gods, here, and Yu Yu Hakusho does have some interesting rules about life and death that I may take advantage of. I'm not sure if i'll use them for Kuniharu, but I'd be surprised if I don't use them for someone.

Thanks for reading!


	29. Home

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

* * *

_It's always been so easy to pretend like I knew everything because for the longest time—my whole life, in fact—I really thought I did. But it turns out, I really didn't know anything about much of anything at all. And now my dad—my stupid, happy, tireless, love struck, predictable, dependable dad—has paid the price for my arrogance. My dad, who I somehow always believed, at least in some small part of my vast brain, was utterly invincible. My dad who I never, not once, imagined would ever leave me, leave my brother, leave Mom. Even during that awful year when all they did was fight, I knew my dad wouldn't leave because I knew, without a doubt, that he loved us more than his own life. _

_I guess it figures he'd have to go and prove me right by dying. _

_Dying. _

_My dad is dead. _

_What am I supposed to do now?_

* * *

**Home**

"Kusuo-kun?" Teruhashi spoke quietly as she padded down the hall, and Kusuo could almost feel the concern radiating from her. "Are you okay? You've been out here for a long time."

Kusuo shrugged.

"Okay." She reached for him, her fingers brushing the skin of his elbow before tracing down the length his arm and over his wrist to grasp his hand. She laced their fingers together and waited, though for what, Kusuo had no idea. Minutes—or maybe hours, who cared?—passed before Teruhashi seemed to realize she wasn't getting anything out of him. In response, she tugged him toward the room where she had left Yuuta, both of her hands cradling his one.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked once they were safely in the room, the shoji door slid firmly closed. Kusuo looked around for Yuuta. He was sound asleep on a child-sized futon with his arms and legs akimbo beneath the summer duvet. His hat was gone and his clothing had been changed into a plain white yukata. Thank the kami for that because Kusuo honestly had no idea how he'd react if he walked in to find Yuuta unconscious _and_ covered in blood and brains.

"Come on." Teruhashi tugged him to Yuuta's bedside, but stopped him from sitting for a moment so she could situate a cushion beneath him. Kusuo waited at her silent order, then dropped gracelessly to the ground once the cushion was in place. It was comfortable, a distant part of his brain noted, but considering how numb he was, he doubted he'd notice the difference between it and the hard floor.

Teruhashi sat beside him on a second cushion, folding her legs to one side as she leaned against his arm, her fingers stroking from wrist to elbow with the hand that wasn't still holding his. She was humming too, a soft, sad sounding song that was somehow almost comforting. He didn't want her to stop, at least.

What did he want, anymore? He felt so lost; like a castaway set adrift at sea but this time without any powers to get himself and those around him back to safety. There was an emptiness inside him now that he didn't know how to fill, or what to fill it with.

Part of him wanted to tell Teruhashi what happened, but he couldn't find the words. And would she even care? He knew she liked his mother well enough, but he couldn't recall her every spending much time around his father. Did she ever laugh at his lame jokes? Listen with a smile as he recounted his day? Sigh dreamily at the over-the-top devotion he showered on his wife?

Kusuo thought she had done all of those things at least once, but he honestly couldn't remember.

His eyes fell on Yuuta, and the gaping hole in his stomach widened to a sucking pit. How could he tell Yuuta that _his_father was dead, too? His mother missing? Or was it father and mother missing? Kusuo sincerely hoped so, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it.

All of this was his fault, wasn't it? If he'd only kept his powers, none of this would have happened. Why did he have to be so selfish?

Teruhashi shifted closer and rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers still stroking up and down his arm as she hummed that soft, sad, comfortable song. He stared at her, uncomprehending.

"Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?"

"I did," she said without looking up, her fingers shifting from drawing lines across his skin to drawing circles.

When she said nothing more, his brow furrowed and he frowned. "Aren't you going to ask me again?"

She shrugged the shoulder not pressed against him, and he noticed for the first time that she had changed too. Her white, bloodied dress now exchanged for a pristine white yukata. A yukata that was loose enough for him to see the curve of her collar bone, the slope of her breasts.

"You'll tell me when you're ready," she said, jolting him from his perusal of her flesh, and still her fingers traced. She went back to humming as well, and that seemed to be that.

_How_? Kusuo wondered as he stared at the profile of her face. _How can any one person be so…so…perfect?_

And she really was perfect, wasn't she? Not because she was pretty or because she put on that 'pretty girl' front. No, she was perfect because of her imperfections. She had so much confidence and drive and yet, at the same time, could be so insecure, jealous, and petty. She was smart and knew it, but allowed herself to be dumb with Yuuta as they danced across the room or she helped him with his kindergarten homework, exclaiming with delight every time he found the right answer because she had just been so lost. She smiled at everyone, but she _smiled_ at Kusuo, at his family, at Yuuta, and every time he had to brace himself or risk losing his breath in that soft 'offu' she'd coveted for so long. She treated everyone fairly, like they were important and known and loved, and not just because she was a perfect pretty girl, but because she needed, more than anything in the world, to feel loved herself. To feel like she mattered to someone, anyone, for who she was instead of who her parents wanted her to be.

Looking down at her now, indigo eyes closed with a soft smile on her petal pink lips as she hummed her soothing song to fill the oppressive silence, Kusuo realized with a jolt that, more than anything, he wanted to be that someone. He didn't know if he loved her, didn't know if he ever would, but he wanted to try. Because he realized now that while Teruhashi may not be perfect in all the ways that matter to the world, she was probably the most perfect person in the world for him.

"Teruhashi."

"Hm?" She looked up, her eyes slipping half-open in a sleepy daze. She looked so comfortable, so content, and he wanted that for himself. _Needed_ it. His entire life had fallen about his ears in shambles, but somehow this girl was an anchor in the storm.

_No_, Kusuo decided as he shifted around, one hand on the ground by her hip while the other came up to cradle her face. _She isn't just a shelter in the dark. She's so much more than that._

She was the smell of his mother's cooking, the echo of Yuuta's laughter, the swelling of his father's confident heart. She was warmth on a cold day, a smile after a bad night. Her presence filled every inch of his house, of his life, and without her, he was growing increasingly certain he would collapse like a doll without a spine. Because Teruhashi wasn't just something to hold on to, she was the everything holding him up.

She was home.

Her brow furrowed as she looked up, her hand raising to cover his still resting against her face. "Kusuo?"

He kissed her.

It was both everything and nothing he'd expected based on the memories of that insane premonition he'd had all those months back. There was passion, but it was bridled; channeled into a single press of his lips on hers in a way that burned. Her mouth was soft but unyielding as she pushed against his pulls and vice versa. She tasted like mint and affection—a combination he hadn't known could exist as he didn't know until that moment that affection even _had_a taste. But it did, and it tasted like _her_.

Kokomi twisted against him, twining her fingers into his shirt and pulling him close as his fingers delved into her hair to tilt her head to the side. She sighed against his mouth as she pulled back for breath, then dived back in with the sudden sweep of her tongue against his bottom lip. He groaned, fisting her hair in one hand and her yukata in the other; hauling her up against him until she straddled his lap. The yukata parted up to her thighs, giving Kusuo plenty to explore. He trailed a hand down her back and over her hip to draw the same lines on her bare leg that she'd spent almost an hour drawing on his arm. She shivered against him and pulled back with a gasp.

"Yuu-chan," she said, trying to disentangle herself. Kusuo clutched at her, his heart flaring with unexpected, uncharacteristic panic. If he let her go, she would leave, and she couldn't leave because he needed her. He needed _all_ of her.

"Shh," she said, placing a gentle peck against his lips before drawing away again. "We have another room. I just don't want to wake Yuu-chan."

He loosened his grip with reluctance tempered by trust, but she didn't release him fully. Instead, she trailed her hands down his arms to grasp his hands and pull him to his feet. He came to her easily, willingly, and wrapped his arms around her waist before she could blink. He kissed her again, drawing her up on her toes until she had to step on his feet to properly reach him. Her fingers twined in the hairs at the base of his neck, tugging softly with every caress and he groaned, drawing her flush against him. He broke the kiss to bury his face in her shoulder and breathe her in as he hugged her so tight he was amazed she didn't complain for lack of air.

"Come on," she said, turning her head to press an open mouthed kiss to his jaw. He shuddered but stepped back, though he'd claimed her hand for his own.

He felt so unlike himself as Kokomi slid open the wooden door separating their room from Yuuta's. Or maybe, he amended, not unlike himself as much as…more like himself? It was hard to explain, even in his own mind, because there wasn't a thing happening right now that he didn't want, that he was suddenly realizing he had wanted for a while now, but everything was so different when he had his psychic powers. He never had to guess what she was thinking or what her intentions were. He didn't have to wonder why she did what she did or why she _didn't_ do what she _didn't_. There roles in life had been so solidly defined that there had been no room for experimentation because everything had been so comfortable. He knew when she liked him, he knew when she loved him, and there was a sense of…almost confidence in that knowledge.

He'd tried so hard to keep her at arms length, spent years ignoring her, manipulating her, lying to her, and yet nothing he did had changed the way she felt about him. Not even telling her the truth.

"Are you sure about this?" Kokomi sounded nervous as she slid the door closed behind them, leaving just him and her and the single, king sized futon laid out in the middle of the floor. "You seem upset, and I don't want you accusing me of taking advantage of you later."

Kusuo snorted, startled by how amused he suddenly was. "As if you could."

She grinned and traced her fingers across his cheek. "Are you ready to talk?"

Honestly, talking was the very last thing on his mind right now, but he probably should tell her something; otherwise, it might be her accusing him later of taking advantage.

He started at that sudden thought. _Shit, **am** I taking advantage of her_?

He probably was, at least a little, because she was warm and familiar and safe.

_And here_? He asked himself. _Do I only want this with her because she's the only one here_?

He thought of Aiura and her blatant invitations, of Mera and her subconscious appeal, of Yumehara and her tireless enthusiasm. He cared about each of them in his own way, even found them attractive on a purely aesthetic level. But if it was one of them here in this moment—Aiura, Mera, Yumehara, it didn't matter—would he still be having the same moment he was with Kokomi?

No. Not even slightly.

_Yare, yare_, Kusuo sighed and passed a hand over his face._ I really am in love with her, aren't I_?

After five years of dodging her, how in hell did he grow so sloppy as to get caught?

"Kusuo-kun?"

Kusuo released his sigh as a growl. "Stop _calling_ me that."

"Sorry."

_You will be_, was on the tip of his tongue, but fortunately such a lame line was lost to the ether as he kissed her again. Her hands drifted up his sides, hesitating only a second before sliding beneath his shirt to span his stomach. His abdominals spasmed beneath her warm fingers, and he groaned at the feel of her, wondering how those ghosting fingers would translate across other parts of him.

_Get a grip, idiot_, he scolded himself as he slowed the kiss and pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers. _You were going to talk, right_?

"Kusuo?" Her breath ghosted across his lips as she spoke, her fingers tracing circles up and down his stomach.

_Oh fuck it_. Kusuo trapped her in his arms and crushed his mouth to hers, drawing her toward the futon with a desperate, pulsing need. They would talk later, and he'd tell her everything, but right now, he really needed to come home.

* * *

Kaliea: For those of you who may be concerned, Kusuo is not taking advantage of her by not talking things out first. Kokomi is very well aware that something bad has happened, but she also has come to know Kusuo well enough to realize he's the kind of person that can't process things immediately, especially shocks. He diverts, he distracts, he finds ways to take his mind off whatever it is that is bothering him until he can find a way to fix it. An example of this behavior is his recurring need to return home during stressful situations in the anime, such as when his friends are stranded on the island or after he rescued the Okinawa trip. He needs familiar places to recharge, and probably familiar faces too. Despite his powers, or perhaps because of them, Kusuo has a greater need than most to surround himself with the familiar when he's unable to cope with things outside of his control. Kokomi recognizes this, and despite Kusuo having never said anything about it, she knows his need for her isn't just a physical thing or even a psychological thing; it's a deeply emotional thing. Kusuo says everything with his actions because he can't say it with his words or expression, and every action Kusuo has taken toward her for months, maybe years, tells her that he loves her.

Second thing, Kusuo's need for physical comfort right now is actually very real. My master's thesis is a practical application study of the different ways people grieve, and craving sex is one of those ways. It's not a carnal thing, it's a purely emotional experience. When someone has lost a connection that is so near and dear to them, it can often feel like a piece of themselves went with it. There's an emotional need to fill that void, and physical intimacy is one of the ways people can regain a sense of what they lost. Not with the person they've lost, obviously, but with someone they love and revere just as much, if not more.

I realize I'm probably not explaining it well, but my intent in this chapter was to show that Kokomi realized what Kusuo needed before he did, and that she was sincerely worried about taking advantage of him because he _isn't_ normally a tactile person. Had Kusuo not realized his feelings for her when he did, she would have every reason to be worried about such a thing, but because of the way things played out, **this encounter is entirely consensual on both sides.**

That said, I'm happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

Also, yes. This was planned pretty much from the beginning.

Thanks for reading!


	30. Moving Forward

**Chapter Thirty**

* * *

_Well, **that** just happened._

_…twice._

_I'll admit, when the passion and need subsided, I expected to regret what happened, but I didn't. I still don't. She and I have known each other for six years, and though I didn't realize it before, the last two have been railroading me to this moment. It was always her, and it was always going to **be** her, it just took me a while to see it. _

_And now that I have? Well…_

_I'm terrified. Because she and Yuuta are just one more thing in this world for me to lose._

* * *

**Moving Forward**

"I never expected you to be the cuddly type, Kusuo." Kokomi's voice was muffled in his bare chest as he held her. Her arms were slipped around him as they lay on their sides, facing each other, and her fingers drew soothing lines across his back. For anyone else, the sensation of fingertips dancing across bare skin would probably be arousing, but it only made him relax. Considering how sudden and passionate their lovemaking had been, Kusuo had been concerned that something inside him would change when it was over, maybe change into some sex-crazed pervert who couldn't get enough of her. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. In fact, the sex was good, but lying here like this, the room swelling with comfortable silence and ethereal warmth as they exchanged unspoken thoughts was probably his favorite part.

"I've never had anyone to cuddle before," Kusuo said at last, twisting the ends of her long hair around his fingers. The thin cotton of his pale pink button down was rough beneath his fingertips when he occasionally brushed her back, but it didn't bother him. He liked that she was wearing his shirt. It almost made him feel—_dare I even think it?_—possessive. After all, she was here, in his bed, wearing his shirt, wrapped in his arms.

_Does that make her mine_?

"Kusuo?"

"Mm?"

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?"

Kusuo stiffened, his arms tightening around her waist as he buried his nose in the juncture of her neck and shoulder. The last few hours had been as close to heaven as Kusuo could imagine, and he didn't want to shatter the illusion by talking about the brutal reality, but she deserved to know what happened. And honestly, deep down, he needed to talk about it.

"Dad is dead." He muttered against her neck, part of him hoping she wouldn't be able to understand.

"Oh, Kusuo." She said nothing else, just slipped one leg over his hip to pull him closer as her left hand buried in his hair to massage his scalp. He swallowed hard, but the lump in his throat wouldn't go down. His eyes burned, so he squeezed them closed with a deep, steadying breath before continuing.

"He was shot by someone, a strange woman, my brother said. He died protecting Mom."

"Of course, he did." She nuzzled beneath his jaw. "Your father would never leave you or your brother or Oba-san unless it was to save you. He loved you, Kusuo—loves you still." Her voice turned rougher as she spoke, and he felt her body tremble beneath his grasping hands. "I'm s-so sorry he's gone."

The lump in Kusuo's throat turned hot as it swelled. He swallowed again and again, but it only grew bigger, sharper. His eyes burned until he couldn't take it anymore. Gritting his teeth, Kusuo clutched Kokomi tighter and shuddered as the tears squeezed free of his tightly closed eyes to stain their pillow and her shirt. She didn't try to calm or soothe him with soft words and gentle noises, she just held him close and cried with him. They poured their misery into each other, two broken hearts soaking up rivers of water and salt.

He didn't know how long they stayed that way, wrapped so tightly around one another with their minds and spirits so irrevocably intertwined that they may as well be one person. He'd never felt so close to anyone before; not even when they had been literally joined had Kusuo felt so connected to her. This went beyond physical, beyond emotional, beyond even spiritual.

_She's God's gift to you_.

Had it really been only a few days since Natsuko had said that to him? It seemed like years. With all that had happened, the difference between then and now spanned several lifetimes.

They wound down in sync, Kokomi once again tracing intricate designs across his back. Kusuo traced a hand down her back to where his shirt rode up to draw circles on her hip with his thumb. They stayed that way for several more minutes before Kusuo felt able to talk.

He told her what he'd learned from Kusuke and Dr. Arisawa, mentioned how he'd been unable to reach Yuuta's mother. From there, he shifted to concern for their friends and realized he'd neglected to tell her what they'd learned the afternoon they'd spent at the temple training with Urameshi. He told her that his psychic powers were gone but that he still had spirit energy, and he was learning to use it on his own so he would probably, hopefully, progress quickly under an actual teacher. He told her about the Reborn and the natural psychics from Mushiori City, explained Territory and how that man on the train had been able to take Kusuo to a different dimension.

Unable to stop now that he'd started, Kusuo's confessions went back in time to their five years as sophomores. He talked backward from the volcano explosion in Oshimai-ken all the way back to round one of Year 2. He told her things he never expected to say aloud to anyone, told her things he hadn't realized he'd felt until he was saying them. Like how jealous he was of Kusuke's genius or how he admired his father's endless dedication or his secret wish to be normal so he wouldn't have to worry about drawing attention anymore.

He'd wanted to be rid of his powers so badly and for so long that he'd never considered what his life would be like without them, and now he regretted it so much. More than anything else in his life, he wanted to go back and stop himself from taking Kusuke's offer, to go back to the everyday craziness that was his life. His safe, normal, sometimes even _boring_ life.

"This wasn't your fault, Kusuo." Kokomi drew back just enough to cup his cheek and meet his eyes. "You had no way of knowing what would happen. Even Aiura-san didn't know, right? And she can see the future."

"So can I. _Could_ I. Sometimes." He sighed and rubbed a knuckle against his left eyebrow where a headache was forming. "I've seen and stopped hundreds, probably thousands, of disasters. I even saw a different future from this one before sealing my powers for good. So why didn't I see _this_ one coming?"

"You had a lot of power, Kusuo, but even at your peak, you weren't God. There's no possible way you could know everything." She brushed her thumb across his cheek and smiled. "But even now, and despite everything that's happened, I know you'll figure it out. You'll protect Yuu-chan and stop Dark Reunion and we'll go back to school like normal kids even if…" Her brow furrowed, but she pressed on. "Even if things can't be the same as they were before. We're different now, all of us, for so many reasons. But we're not done, Kusuo. _You're_ not done."

He frowned, his hand leaving her hip to cover hers where it rested against his face. "How could you possibly know that?"

Kokomi smiled, and it took his breath away. "Because," she said. "I know _you_."

He kissed her, then, what else could he possibly do? She accepted him, drew him closer, let him ease her onto her back as he rose up on one elbow to hover over her. Both of her small hands framed his face as he kissed her deeply, drank her into himself, and he felt himself growing lost in her arms. That beyond soul-deep connection they'd cultivated as they lay together in silence, in tears, in confession, resonated between them, pulsing intangibly until the air grew thick and seemed to spark with repressed energy. He grasped her hips with both hands and pressed her into the futon as his body came alive with need, with connection, with love—

A knock on the door cut through Kusuo's hazy brain, and he pulled back with a gasp. Kokomi stared back at him with kiss bruised lips, glazed indigo eyes, her inky blue hair splayed in stark contrast against a glaring white pillow as her chest heaved beneath his too-thin shirt. _Kami, she's beautiful_…

"That wasn't the hall door," she said, her words barely penetrating the fog in his brain. She put a hand to his chest and pushed. He resisted at first, but she gave him a disapproving frown, and he grudgingly backed off. Another knock sounded, just as timid as the first. Kokomi climbed out of the futon dressed only in her panties and his shirt, her hair in disarray, and crossed to the door connecting their room to Yuuta's. She slid the door open, and Kusuo's heart clenched at the sight of little Yuuta, still dressed in his borrowed yukata, rubbing at his tired, teary eyes.

"Hello, Yuu-chan." Kokomi smiled and crouched in front of him, reaching out to brush the sleep and tears from his eyes with the sleeve of Kusuo's shirt. "You slept a long time."

Yuuta sniffled. "I had a nightmare, Ane."

Kokomi's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You want to sit with us?"

Yuuta nodded and reached for her. Kokomi didn't hesitate to pull him into her arms before crossing the room again to nestle them both in the bed beside Kusuo. Grateful he'd pulled on his pants before settling down for their long cuddle, Kusuo sat up and made room for both Kokomi and Yuuta under his arm. Heart pounding, he shot a questioning look at Kokomi. She pursed her lips, torn, but ultimately nodded. There would never be a good time to tell Yuuta about his parents, so they might as well do it while they were already comforting him.

"Yuu-chan." Kokomi swallowed hard but pressed on. "We have something we need to tell you…"

Yuuta looked up from snuggling into them both, his green eyes soulful and knowing. "Is it tou-san and ka-san?"

Kokomi drew a sharp breath and shot a startled glance at Kusuo. He was equally befuddled and could only shrug. Kokomi licked her lips before turning back to Yuuta with a small nod.

Yuuta nodded back, tears welling up again. "Did they die?"

Kokomi's lower lip trembled, and Kusuo reached up to brush his thumb across her jaw when she tried and failed to respond. She met his eyes, and he shook his head.

_I'll tell him._

She seemed to understand because she nodded, her furrowed brow easing a bit with relief.

"Yuuta." Kusuo waited until the boy tipped his head back enough to look at him. "I called your mom and dad's phones after you fell asleep. Your mom didn't answer, so I don't know how she is, but your dad…" He resisted the urge to look away and instead brought a hand up to cup Yuuta's upturned face. "A doctor answered his phone. She said he was hurt very badly, burned."

"And he died."

It wasn't a question, but Kusuo nodded at Yuuta anyway. "I'm sorry."

Yuuta sobbed and twisted around to bury his face in Kusuo's chest. He didn't wail or scream, just shook with deep, soul-wrenching sobs. Kokomi was crying too, and she wrapped herself around Yuuta from behind to lend the boy the same silent support she'd given Kusuo. His own throat aching, though his eyes remaining dry, Kusuo pulled them both into his embrace and held them, teeth gritted with anger and pain.

_Akemi Homura_, Kusuo thought, his memory bringing up a perfect image of the young girl with her impassive face as her black hair and lavender school uniform rippled in a non-existent wind. _She_ did this; _she_ caused his family to suffer so much pain and heartache. She was the reason Kusuo's father was dead, the reason Yuuta and Kokomi were sobbing in his arms. She'd racked up a huge debt in an impossibly short amount of time, and Kusuo intended to collect with interest.

Another knock sounded, this one on the hallway door. Kusuo's head jerked up, and he lifted a hand—finger charged on instinct. He stared at the pale red glow, surprised. He'd been completely drained after his fight with Homura; he hadn't expected to regenerate so quickly or without getting any real rest.

"Saiki-san? Teruhashi-san?" Natsuko called through the closed door. "I apologize for being rude, but Yusuke-oji-san sent me to retrieve you. Your friends have arrived, and we need to discuss our plans moving forward."

Shaking himself out of his stunned silence, Kusuo released the energy pulsing at the tip of his finger. "Fine," he said, reluctantly nudging Kokomi and Yuuta out of their soggy embrace. "Give us a few minutes, and we'll be right out."

"Of course, Saiki-san," Natsuko said, and though he couldn't see her through the door, he didn't doubt she'd offered a polite bow. She and Yamato really were night and day to each other.

Kokomi rubbed the tears from her eyes and cheeks with one palm, her other arm still wrapped around Yuuta, who she'd pulled into her lap. "Was that Kuwabara-san?"

"Yeah." Kusuo climbed out of bed and crossed to the small sink situated in the back corner of the room. He dug a washcloth out of the sink-side cabinet and ran it under hot water before wringing it out. He passed the damp cloth to Kokomi, who of course used it to wipe the salt and snot from Yuuta's face, before grabbing a second cloth to clean himself up.

"You should probably call her Natsuko-san, though. Both her father and mother are here, so it could get confusing if you call them all Kuwabara."

Kokomi nodded as she finished with Yuuta. She tapped the boy's nose with a small smile before folding the cloth in quarters to use on her own face next.

"Urameshi-san is here as well?"

"And his wife."

"Keiko-san." Kokomi stood, Yuuta in her arms, and nodded. "I remember."

Kusuo cleaned himself up as best he could with only a washcloth and hoped no one would recognize the smell of sex he and Kokomi were likely saturated in. He blushed at that thought and scrubbed his face with the washcloth to hide his heightened color. _Yare, yare._

"Yukina-san put spare clothes in the dresser for us," Kokomi said, already pulling open the bottom drawer and fishing out a pair of shorts and a red t-shirt for Yuuta. "She said that Kuwabara-san will get our clothes when he comes back from…wherever he is, but we'll have to make do with these for now."

Kusuo nodded and snagged the faded khaki's she tossed his way. He dropped his jeans without worrying about her—it's not like she hadn't seen it all already—and finished cleaning himself up before pulling on the borrowed pants. If Kuwabara didn't come back with their clothes soon, he'd have to run to the store for some boxers at least.

"Kusuo," Kokomi whispered, and he turned. She motioned toward Yuuta with her chin. "He fell asleep again."

"Aa." Kusuo crossed the room to pick Yuuta up. The boy settled against his bare shoulder with a sigh, and Kusuo almost smiled. "Make sure you clean up before you change."

"Hai."

Once they were both clean and suitably dressed—Kokomi taking Yuuta back for a moment so Kusuo could pull on an over-sized shirt—they left the room with Yuuta once again held against Kusuo's shoulder. Kuwabara etc. were only down the hall, but neither Kusuo nor Kokomi felt comfortable leaving Yuuta out of their sight for even a second.

"Kusuo!" The shout went up in tandem the second Kusuo slid open the door, and he glared his friends silent.

"You'll wake him up," Kusuo said, waving a hand at Yuuta.

"Sorry, buddy!" Nendou said, only mildly quieter than before. "We're just glad to see you're all right."

"_Are_ you all right?" Hairo asked, his brow furrowed and bare arms crossed over his chest. He looked Kusuo over first, then Kokomi. "You don't look injured, but you do seem pretty exhausted. Your nap not enough to tide you over?"

Kokomi flushed from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair, but she said nothing in response as she folded herself onto a cushion around the low table. Unaffected, Kusuo took the cushion beside her and shifted Yuuta into a more comfortable position. Aside from his friends, only Yamato and Natsuko were in the room at present, which Kusuo found oddly relieving. Whatever the reason, he wasn't ready to face any of the adults populating the compound. Not even the unerringly sweet Kuwabara Yukina.

Yamato snorted, drawing the room's attention away from Kusuo and Kokomi. "I'm sure they're plenty _rested_." The implication was heavy in her voice, and Kusuo shot her a warning glare. She grinned wickedly around the lollypop in her mouth and winked but said nothing more about it. "Natsu and I filled your friends in. They know about the park."

"Oh, Kokomi!" Yumehara grasped Kokomi's hands across the table, her eyes swimming with sympathetic tears. "It sounded _awful_! Are you sure you're okay?"

Kokomi managed a wan smile. "As well as I can be." She cast a questioning glance at Kusuo. His jaw clenched, but he didn't tell her no. Her brows shifted down with sympathy, and she swallowed before looking around the table again. "Yamato-san said she told you about the park, but Saiki-kun learned some other things too."

Kusuo glared at her use of his family name but ground his teeth to stay silent. Now wasn't the time to bring it up, but the second they were alone…

"I apologize," Natsuko said, her voice soft but firm. "I'm afraid I already told them about Saiki-san's discovery as well." She turned to Kusuo and bowed over the table. "My apologies for hearing your thoughts, Saiki-san."

Kusuo and Kokomi stiffened, and a pool of icy dread formed in his stomach. Kusuo knew exactly how telepathy worked when people were being intimate—he'd had more than enough mental scarring from years of living with his lovey-dovey parents—until he'd found that germanium ring and managed to silence his telepathy as he slept. But he'd honestly forgotten Natsuko was a natural telepath, unable to close her mind, which meant she'd been in his head when he was with Kokomi. She'd practically been inside the room!

Sickened, he wanted to be angry at her, but how could he? It's not like she could turn it off any more than he could before he sealed his powers. Fortunately, Kokomi didn't seem to have caught on to the same things Kusuo had, so she didn't fall to embarrassed pieces and instead looked relieved that she wouldn't have to rehash such a painful topic a second time.

_Don't be concerned, Saiki-san._

Kusuo almost jumped at the sudden mental voice, and his eyes snapped to Natsuko's sightless red. Her lips pulled up into the barest of smiles as she said, _The bedrooms are warded against telepathy. I read your thoughts in the hallway and neither saw nor heard anything beyond your door._

Unexpected relief crashed over him, and Kusuo hunched slightly around Yuuta as he tried to regain his usual, stoic face. It wasn't like he was ashamed of what had happened or that he planned to keep his and Kokomi's relationship a to-the-grave secret just between them, but he really hated the idea of his privacy being invaded so intimately. And the idea that someone else had seen Kokomi's euphoric face, heard her ragged, needy gasps, felt the rake of her nails down his back sparked an alarming sort of jealousy he couldn't shake.

_Ehem_, Natsuko mentally coughed, and Kusuo looked up to find her sipping her tea with a delicate blush high on her cheeks. _I may not be able to see or hear your thoughts in your room, but I certainly can now, Saiki-san._

"You okay, buddy? Your face is all red."

"Never mind that," Shun said, his face uncharacteristically firm even though his arms were shaking as he braced against the tabletop. "You never answered my question! If Dark Reunion knows about us, doesn't that mean our families are in danger too?" He swept an arm around the room, encompassing their core group of friends as well as Aiura, Toritsuka, and even Akechi, who had a bandana tied around his mouth to keep him quiet. Saiko, fortunately, was missing.

"Shun's right," Kuboyasu said, punching the table hard enough to get attention. Beside him, Mera had whisked away his plate of castella just in time to save it from an untimely demise before gleefully helping herself. "We all got families, some of us big ones, like Mera. If we're here, shouldn't they be too?"

"Chill your ass, Yankee," Yamato said, lounging with one arm back and her right knee drawn up. Dressed in a white button-down and too-short-shorts, she didn't seem the least bit concerned that she was nearly flashing a room full of young men. "Dad's got it handled. He has the SDF on guard duty around your families. They're kind of lame for an elite force, but they can handle pretty much anything nengenkai could throw their way. And if for some reason they can't, they _can_ open portals to Raikai. If something major happens, they'll rip a hole into the next world and keep your families there until this shit blows over."

Shun's eyes were wide, and he was swaying slightly. Yumehara grasped his arm to hold him steady, querying him in concern, but Shun's gaze never swayed from Yamato.

"You…did you just say your bodyguard people are planning to take my family to _hell_?"

Yamato rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Ochibi. Spirit World is hardly hell; it's more like an airport terminal for the dead."

"Nadi-chan," Natsuko scolded. "There's no need to be so rude."

"D-d-d—" Shun couldn't get the word out and looked more and more apt to faint the harder he tried.

"Easy, Kaidoh," Hairo dropped a hand on Shun's shoulder opposite Yumehara. "Just think about the fact that they're okay and don't sweat the details, yeah?"

Shun swallowed hard but managed a shaky nod. "Y-yeah…"

"Now that _that's_ out of the way," Yamato sat up and draped an arm over her drawn-up knee, "we can get down to the important shit."

A sudden intensity settled over the room, drawing everyone's attention to the pseudo deity as she met each of their eyes with a glare. "Everything has exploded way beyond what any of us expected, even Yuu-ji and Kazu-ji. Dark Reunion is dangerous as fuck, and they've got their sights set on you, Saiki."

Kusuo tensed, but Yamato waved a dismissive hand as she said, "They can't get you here. With all the wards in place, they couldn't see or sense you even if they stood right outside the gates. But they're definitely looking, and they're pissed. Especially that Akemi bitch. She's got a serious hate-boner for you, Saiki."

Everyone but Kusuo shifted uncomfortably at Yamato's coarse language, but it didn't bother him. What she had to say was far more important than how she said it.

"How do you know all this?"

Yamato scoffed. "My dad's the Gatekeeper, remember? He has ways of keeping his eye on this world. Which brings me to your first training assignment." Yamato looked around the room with a predatory grin. "I hope you brought your sleeping bags and popcorn cause it's gonna be a long-ass week."

* * *

Kaliea: And the gang is all here! Except Saiko. He has some background shenanigans to get into that may or may not become relevant later. If not, maybe I'll do a side story when the main story is finished - The Fabulous Adventures of Saiko Metori XD Jk; I already have a Fullmetal Alchemist story planned, and that will be my main focus.

Anyway! We have reached Act 3 of our little play, so things will start coming to a head. Keep in mind, I usually work in a 5-Act structure, so we're only about halfway through, maybe a little more. Coming up, we have some training, character interactions, revelations, and some more Kusuo/Kokomi/Yuuta family bonding.

Thanks for reading!


	31. Something Special

**Chapter Thirty-One**

* * *

_Seeing how late it was, almost eight at night, Yamato "graciously" allowed us the night to ourselves to get situated and reacquainted, though it was done only at Natsuko-san's insistence. Yamato also said dinner would be ready in a bit and to "keep our asses planted" until she came back so we didn't get lost wandering around the temple compound. I'll admit, my initial reaction was to ignore her on principle, but the guys ambushed me, and the girls did the same to Kokomi, grabbing her hand and dragging her to a far corner of the room to talk quietly. With the kind of guys my friends are, "quietly" wasn't much of an option, but they've never had any problems with talking. _

_Yare, yare. Is it too much to ask for some food and a good night's rest? With everything that's happened in the last few weeks, I feel it's the very least God owes me. _

_But then, when has He ever cared about owing me anything?_

* * *

**Something Special**

"So, what do you make of all this, Kusuo?" Hairo asked, doing his best to tone down his natural exuberance so as not to wake Yuuta. "Yamato-san says Akemi is dangerous, but we're going to have take care of her and the rest of her people if we want to put this to rest, right?"

"Unfortunately." Kusuo rested his chin on Yuuta's head as the boy dozed on his lap. He'd gone over his encounter with Akemi Homura backward and forward, and the only conclusion he could reach is that she'd been playing with him. She didn't need to make such a spectacle of Yuuta's kidnapping; she could have swooped in and taken him then disappeared again without anyone being the wiser. So why expose herself so irrevocably? Especially considering all the trouble Dark Reunion had apparently gone through the last five decades keeping their existence such a tightly kept secret.

"Maybe she went rogue?" Kusuo muttered aloud, his brow furrowing. That could explain things, but he didn't get that feeling from her.

"What was that, buddy?"

"I believe Kusuo-kun is referring to the woman he fought at Universal Studios Japan in defense of Iridatsu Yuuta-kun, who is currently sleeping. It is likely that Kusuo-kun is wondering what prompted Akemi Homura to show herself in so public a sphere when, previously, Dark Reunion has done so much to maintain anonymity from the world at large. I believe the answer lies in Kusuo-kun's current state of normalcy as well as Kaidoh-kun's intimate knowledge of Dark Reunion. He may not realize how much he knows about this organization, and I believe Akemi Homura herself, who does appear to be the leader of this organization, realizes Kaido-kun's current ignorance but also recognizes the threat he could pose if his memories break through the surface of his previous existence as one of these Reborn. If Akemi Homura felt that Kusuo-kun and Kaidoh-kun are enough of a threat to her operation, she could have believed herself driven into a corner with no other option than to act."

Akechi tilted his head in consideration, barely pausing before continuing. "Another possibility is that Akemi Homura was so focused on achieving her ultimate goal that she dismissed the consequences of exposing herself in such a way. Based on the surveillance tapes we watched of the fight, Akemi Homura appears to be quite powerful and has some level of control over time. This power is what allowed her to slip in and out of Kusuo-kun's sight and made her ultimate abduction of the boy she believed to be Yuuta-kun possible despite Kusuo-kun's—"

"Too much!" The shout went up from all the boys but Kusuo and nearly jolted Yuuta out of Kusuo's lap as he was shocked awake. He stared around at the gathering of—to him—strangers, and Kusuo scowled at his suddenly sheepish friends.

"Sorry, Kusuo," Hairo said, rubbing his nose with a faint blush.

"Yeah, sorry, buddy. But now we get to see the little buddy too!" Nendou grinned and leaned forward, wriggling his fingers on either side of his head in a bizarre greeting. "Hey there, little buddy!"

Yuuta pressed flat against Kusuo's chest, his eyes wide in terror. Kuboyasu grabbed Nendou by the collar and yanked him back. "Don't be an idiot, Nendou. The last thing any kid wants to see after waking up is your face."

"Baron Cola," Yuuta whimpered, still staring at Nendou. "It's Baron Cola. He's gotta be with that lady, Aniki!" Twisting around, Yuuta buried his face in Kusuo's chest. "Don't let him take me!"

Yare, yare. Kusuo barely had a chance to roll his eyes as he tried to compose some comforting something or other before Kokomi appeared at his side, one hand on Yuuta's back as she leaned into embrace the boy and shush him.

"Shush, Yuu-chan," she crooned, pressing a kiss to his temple. "This isn't Baron Cola. It's actually Nendou-san. He's Baron Cola's good twin, even if he does look a little scary."

Nendou blinked. "You think I'm scary, Teruhashi-san?"

She smiled at him, raising the obligatory 'offu,' and shook her head. "Of course not, Nendou-san. But Yuuta is a young boy whose only point of reference is the villain in his favorite show. It would be difficult for him not to be afraid after seeing you only a few times."

"Oh, right." Nendou crossed his arms and nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Behind Nendou's left shoulder, Kuboyasu rolled his eyes.

"He…he's not a bad guy?" Yuuta asked, peeking up at Kokomi with one watery eye. She shook her head.

"No way!" She ruffled his hair. "Do you really think Kusuo or I would let a bad guy within a thousand kilometers of you? You're surrounded by heroes, you know?""

"I am?"

"You are!" She coaxed Yuuta into her arms and shifted him around to face all their friends. She pointed at Shun. "You remember him, right? He's Cyborg Qoo." She pointed at Kuboyasu then Hairo. "And that's Cyborg Ramune and Cyborg Pokari Sweat, and over there is Strawberry Milk Girl and Calpico Girl. We also have other special friends like Akechi-san, Toritsuka-san, and Aiura-san, who all have special powers!" She then pointed to herself as Yuuta tilted his head back to look up at her. "And, of course, I'm Peach-T Girl," she pointed at Kusuo, "and Kusuo is Cyborg Cider-man #2. So, you see? You are absolutely safe here, Yuu-chan. Everyone here will protect you, no matter what."

Nods all around. Kuboyasu even raised a fist and slapped his bicep in one of Cyborg Ramune's classic poses. "Hell yeah, kid. Ain't no one messing with you while we're around!"

A tentative smile pulled at Yuuta's lips, and he nodded. "I always knew Aniki was a hero. I should have known his friends are too!"

"They absolutely are." Kokomi tapped Yuuta's nose. "But right now, the boys are thinking up a way to fight all of the bad guys, so why don't you come sit with me and Chiyo and Mera while they talk, okay?"

Yuuta nodded and slid off Kokomi's lap so she could stand and take his hand. She used Kusuo's shoulder to lever herself up but paused half-way to give him a half-smile. "The girls and I will go to our room for tea until dinner. Let me know if you need me?"

Kusuo nodded, and Kokomi ushered Yuuta toward the door where Yumehara, Mera, and Aiura waited. Once they were gone, Kusuo let out a sharp breath and scrubbed a hand through his hair. What was he going to do about Yuuta in the long run? Especially when Kokomi was so much better with the boy than Kusuo had ever been.

Setting that problem aside to deal with later, Kusuo turned back to the subject at hand. Or would have done, except everyone was staring at him. Kusuo frowned.

"What?"

"Yo, Saiki," Toritsuka said, frowning. "Did Teruhashi just call you Kusuo?"

Yare, yare.

"So?" He swept a hand at his other friends. "They all call me Kusuo, and Aiura too."

"Yeah," Toritsuka pressed, leaning forward with one elbow propped on his crossed legs. "But that's Teruhashi, man! Teruhashi!"

Yare, yare.

"Actually, it would appear that Teruhashi-san is more than just 'Teruhashi' to Kusuo-kun based on the angle of their glances, the lingering touches, and the lack of reaction when Teruhashi-san used his name so familiarly. It seems this is a discussion that Teruhashi-san and Kusuo-kun have already had, possibly at length, at least that is to be expected considering Kusuo-kun and Teruhashi-san have already had se—"

"Akechi!" Kusuo glared and slammed his fist against the floor, cracking the tatami when a bit of spirit energy leaked by accident.

"Ah! My apologies, Kusuo-kun. Of course, such a thing has no reason to be discussed in company and is none of my business besides. I'll forget I ever noticed and refrain from mentioning it again. I understand that—"

"You know, guy, you really talk way too much." Nendou dug into his nose with his pinky as he spoke. "Who cares if Buddy and Teruhashi-san are finally together? It's about time, you know? They've liked each other forever."

"Whaaaat?!" Toritsuka pressed both hands against his temples and reared backwards in utter dismay. "Saiki and Teruhashi-san? Together? What is this world coming too?!"

"Dude, chill." Kuboyasu shot Toritsuka a disgusted frown. "Teruhashi and Kusuo have been together for months, Kusuo just didn't realize it before now." He raised an eyebrow in Kusuo's direction. "Or have you realized it yet?"

Kusuo frowned. "We weren't together until yesterday."

Kuboyasu snorted. "You didn't know you were together until yesterday, maybe, but you were definitely together." He waved his hand toward the others. "We all knew. It was just a matter of when you did."

Hairo nodded, his arms crossed and eyes closed as if he were a teacher disappointed in a promising student who took way too long to solve what should have been a simple math problem. "It's true, Kusuo. I've been waiting for you guys to admit you were a thing since that first Christmas at your house."

"Heh." Shun flipped his bangs from his face, almost glittering as a smug grin settled on his lips. "Honestly, Kusuo. How could anyone possibly be so slow when it comes to their own love life?"

"Like you're one to talk," Kusuo, Kuboyasu, Hairo, and even Nendou said in the same dead-pan monotone. Toritsuka didn't notice as he chewed on a handkerchief and cried.

"Eh?" Shun said, but Kusuo waved the question away.

"We have more important things to deal with right now." Kusuo leaned forward, meeting each of his friends in the eye. "Yuuta is in danger, and the rest of us by extension. We need to figure out Dark Reunion's plan, find Akemi Homura, and put an end to all this."

"And all in a month, too." Hairo crossed his arms and shook his head. "We've definitely got our work cut out for us."

"Eh?" Kuboyasu cocked his head. "Why only a month?"

"Because school starts up again in September, man." Hairo looked ready to laugh. "You really think we'll have time to save the world when we have class, homework, and after school clubs to deal with?"

"There's something I don't get, though," Shun said, a fist to his chin as he stared sightlessly at the wall. "Why is Dark Reunion going through so much trouble for just one kid? I mean, Yuuta's a good kid and all, but he's still just a kid. He doesn't even have any powers, right, Kusuo?"

"Not that I ever noticed." Kusuo paused after that, suddenly remembering Yuuta's odd movements in the hotel. The boy had been sound asleep, but he'd still managed to dodge Kusuo's every attempt to undress him (Still not what it sounds like). Was that just a coincidence, or was it some latent power Yuuta was just now coming into? Was there a certain age that normal psychics developed their abilities, or did they have them from birth like Kusuo had?

Normal psychics? Kusuo massaged his temple with the heel of his palm. How is this my life?

"It doesn't matter if he has powers or not," Kusuo said at last. "Akemi Homura seemed to care about Yuuta himself more than anything he could do. Well…" His brow furrowed as he remembered her single-minded ascertain that it was Madoka she wanted, not Yuuta. "It's not even Yuuta she wants, but the person he used to be."

Looking up, Kusuo motioned between himself, Nendou, Hairo, Kuboyasu, and Shun. "Yuuta is a Reborn, like us. He used to be a person named Madoka. Akemi Homura is obsessed with this person and thinks she can get Madoka back if she removes Yuuta's soul."

His friends all blanched, speechless, until Shun ventured a tentative, "She want to kill him?"

Kusuo nodded, his lips thinned to a solemn line. "That is what she said."

"Well fuck that shit!" Kuboyasu slapped his palm against the floor, making Kusuo jump. He still wasn't used to unexpected actions or shouts. "She thinks she can step into our turf and shake us down for all we're worth? That bitch ain't got a fucking clue." He raised a clenched fist and grinned a dark, yankee grin complete with bulging forehead veins. "Girl or not, I'll take her down with my bare fucking hands if she even thinks about taking me on!"

"How noble."

Everyone jumped at the unexpected voice drifting through the shoji screen. Kuboyasu and Hairo turned, their backs were to the door, as the partition slid open with a crack. Yamato lounged in the door frame, her lean body draped against the wooden frame with one arm raised over her head and the other propped lazily on her hip. A round of 'offu' went through the room at her admittedly seductive appearance, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Noble," she repeated, "but stupid as shit. We don't know much about how her psychic power works yet, but it's pretty obvious she has some sort of grasp on time. You have a hell of a lot more training to do before you can get even remotely close to her level." Her eyes snapped to Kusuo. "Even you, Saiki. Maybe especially you."

Kusuo frowned, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean time?"

"I mean time." Yamato rolled her eyes with a scoff as she pushed away from the doorframe. She tossed her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and shifted the lollipop in her mouth from right to left. "Honestly, it pisses me off that you didn't notice on your own. You were the one fighting her, dumbass. Didn't you stop to wonder how she could move like that? I mean, I only saw the security video, but it was totally obvious she was slipping in and out of time."

Kusuo blinked. Slipping in and out of time? He'd assumed teleportation, but time travel? He had used time travel himself, obviously, but it was always to go back and change things, and even then, it rarely worked out the way he wanted it to. But if Akemi Homura was, as Yamato put it, 'slipping in and out of time,' that meant she was moving forward and backward at will.

Or maybe…Kusuo pressed his crooked finger against his chin. Maybe she wasn't moving forward and backward, maybe she was actually stopping time?

Honestly, that made the most sense. How else would she be able to be exactly where she needed to be to make the most impact against her opponents? Just fast-forwarding would only be helpful if she could see into the future she wanted to change, and constantly rewinding time would create branching timelines that she may or may not be able to control. The odds of her separating out the exact sequence of events capable of making her seamless actions so, well, seamless were practically impossible. Plus, if that was what she was doing, there's no way Kokomi would have managed to get Yuuta away from her. She would have just rewound time the moment she realized Yuuta wasn't in her grasp and taken him anyway.

"Get it now?" Yamato scoffed and pushed away from the door, once again shifting her lollipop as she sauntered across the room to take the empty space at the table beside Hairo. "Good to know the space between your ears isn't all air."

"Damn it, lady!" Kuboyasu went up on one knee, his fist raised in challenge. "What the hell is your problem, huh? We didn't ask you to come around, you know; you and your sparkly friend just showed up and dragged us along. So how about showing some damned respect, huh?"

Yamato scowled and slammed one palm on the table, her yankee vein a rival to Kuboyasu's. "You got a problem with me, four-eyes? Cause I'll tell you know, if it wasn't an assignment from my dad you can bet your ass I'd have no problem leaving all of you to fend for yourselves. And just where do you think you'd be then, huh? Huh?!"

Hairo dropped a hand on Yamato's shoulder and eased her back down onto her floor cushion while Shun clung to Kuboyasu's left arm and Nendou pressed down on his right shoulder.

"Calm down, Yamato-san," Hairo said. "It may not seem like it, but we do appreciate what you've done for us. That being said, there's no reason for you to so constantly go out of your way to antagonize us. You offered us your help, yes, but we're giving our help right back." He gave Yamato that almost paternal frown of infinite disappointment he always seemed to bring out at exactly the right time to elicit the greatest effect on the viewer. "Is it too much to ask for a little mutual respect?"

Yamato stared at Hairo, her eyes blinking rhythmically as if she were face-to-face with some sort of unknown creature of lore. After a long moment, she tore her eyes away, but she didn't shake off his hand.

"I…guess you make a descent point. And yeah, I'm frustrated, but I guess you guys are too." Her eyes flitted around the table for a moment, lingering longest on Kusuo before shifting back to Hairo. She sighed. "I guess I can tone it down a little." Her gaze sharpened and cut to Kuboyasu with an accompanying scowl. "But if one of you starts something, you better as hell believe I'll finish it!"

"Oh, yeah, Daten-shi?" Kuboyasu grinned maniacally and brought up a hand to motion her closer with his fingers. "Just bring it!"

If Hairo had been any less Hairo, Kusuo was sure he'd be slamming his forehead against the table. Not that Kusuo blamed him.

Yare, yare.

"Oh my," Natsuko's exasperated sigh turned Kuboyasu and Yamato into stone. "Must everyone always be so rude to each other?"

"It-it's not my fault!" Yamato shifted her lollipop and jabbed a finger at Kuboyasu with a faint blush rising high on her cheeks. She refused to look at anyone as she said, "It's this guy who always starts shit with me. I'm just a poor, defenseless girl, you know? If anyone should be scolded for being rude, it's this guy."

"Who do you keep calling 'this guy,' huh? I have a name, dammit!"

"Offu, Natsuko-san," Nendou said, waving at the blind girl with a grin. "Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving, ya know?"

Natsuko's whole face lit up with a soft, angelic smile and she nodded. "I just came to get you all. Oka-sama and Keiko-oba-san decided to set up in the formal dining room since there are so many people here." She stepped aside and motioned with the hand not holding her red-tipped aluminum cain. "I am quite happy to show you all the way."

There was a low murmur of conscent mixed with a round of 'ng' (and how strange was it that Nendou was able to tone it down to a mere 'offu'?). Kusuo stood last as everyone else filed out of the room, Kuboyasu and Yamato, of course, glaring daggers at each other as they went.

"Just send me the directions," Kusuo said, tapping his temple. "I will let Kokomi and the others know."

Toritsuka wailed from his corner of the room. "How dare you call her Kokomi, you bastard?!" He threw an arm over his teary eyes and sobbed. "This is so wrong! Of all the guys to get such a beauticious angel, why did it have to be you-u-u?"

Akechi patted Toritsuka on the shoulder as he pushed the wailing medium from the room with both hands flat against his back. "You say 'of all the guys,' Toritsuka-san, but one would think that it would be obvious that a man so accomplished and powerful could be the only match for one such as Teruhashi, who wields such a formidable power of her own. It would be unthinkable that anyone less would be worthy of one such as her as it is Kusuo-san—"

"That's exactly the problem!" Toritsuka shouted as he and Akechi disappeared from the room. "If it was any other guy, I'd have a chance to steal her, but from Saiki?!"

Kusuo rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. Yare, yare.

"I've sent you the directions, Saiki-san." Natsuko waved briefly before turning to follow the rest down the hall. "If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call."

Kusuo nodded politely enough that it was almost a bow and made his way out the opposite doors to the residential hallway holding his family's rooms. The conversation was animated enough that Kusuo could hear Yumehara almost the second he stepped into the hallway, and he had to fight down a smile. How was it that these girls had gotten so far under his skin that he actually found their annoyances almost endearing?

He rapped once on the shoji's wood frame but slid it open before anyone responded. Kokomi quirked an eyebrow at him, her lips turned half-up in an expression of amused exasperation. "Honestly, Kusuo, what's the point in knocking if you're just going to barge in anyway?"

"It's my room, I'll barge in if I want."

Aiura stiffened at that, and her eyes went wide. She looked around the (admittedly large) room; her attention lingering on the single futon and chest dresser. Kusuo noticed a minute tremor run through her, and he swallowed a sigh. Yare, yare; best get that conversation out of the way.

"Aniki!" Yuuta bounded from Kokomi's lap and threw himself into Kusuo's arms. He lifted the boy easily, suddenly grateful that his body's natural strength had been enhanced by having held his powers rather than being cripplingly weakened by losing them. "Are you done talking now?"

Kusuo nodded. "For now. We have things to talk about later, but right now, it's time for dinner."

Stars lit up Yuuta's eyes. "Yay!" He threw up his hands. "I'm so, so hungry, Aniki! You have nooooo idea how much!"

Considering Yuuta last ate almost nine hour ago, Kusuo had a pretty good guess, but he only nodded. "Aa." Setting the boy back on his feet, Kusuo nudged him toward the sink in the far back corner. "Go get washed up."

"Kay!" As ordered, Yuuta bounded over and went up on his tiptoes to reach the low sink and scrub up. Giggling, Kokomi got up to help him, letting Kusuo turn his attention to the rest of their friends. He smiled at Yumehara first. Her lack of any sort of power made her the most vulnerable of his friends, and he didn't realize just how relieved he was to know she was okay until seeing her just now.

"Yumehara-san," his gaze shifted, "Mera-san. I'm glad you're both all right."

"Of course, we are!" Yumehara's grin turned sheepish, and she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I say that, but it's really all thanks to Chisato. She insisted the two of us stay together over the weekend, and well, that really saved me."

Kusuo's eyes went briefly wide before narrowing. "What happened?"

"Oh, no!" Yumehara waved both hands wildly. "Nothing bad, really. I just felt safer knowing she was around." Clasping her hands atop her knees, she fiddled with her thumbs. "That night after everything that happened, I wasn't able to sleep at all. Chisato called me this morning and said we should stick together, so when Natsuko-san and Yamato-san called us all together, I didn't panic like I would have if I was by myself."

Relaxing, Kusuo nodded. "It's good that you two decided to stay close like that." He honestly doubted it would help much if the two had been singled out by Dark Reunion, but it still made him feel better to know his friends were taking this insanity seriously. "And you, Mera? Everything okay?"

Mera grinned, the light flashing off her glasses as she gave him a thumbs up. "Everything is A-okay on my side, Saiki! I've already had several great meals today, so I'm all powered up!"

"Good." With no more reason to stall, Kusuo turned to Aiura. She'd put on a strained smile, and the moment she realized he was watching her, she raised her v-ed fingers in front of her right eye.

"Yo, Kusuo! No problems here!"

"Hm." Unconvinced, Kusuo met Kokomi's eyes across the room. He didn't need to make any sort of indicator regarding his intentions; she simply nodded once and popped Yuuta off her knee to dry his hands.

"Come on, Yuu-chan. We'll go save a seat for Kusuo at dinner, ne? That way, he can get cleaned up too."

Yuuta's face fell at first, the self-conscious uncertainty lingering beneath his natural exuberance rising to the surface for only a moment before his expression lit up with understanding, and he nodded. "Yes! Aniki was talking, so he didn't have time to wash like you and me."

Then, almost before Kusuo could blink, Yuuta and Kokomi were at the bedroom door, and Yuuta was waving good-bye. "I'll save you a good seat, Aniki!"

Kusuo blinked at the display. Did anyone else just see that?

As if in answer, both Mera and Yumehara stood and smiled like nothing was wrong with the world.

"We'll go too," Yumehara said. "I want to talk to Kaidoh-kun before dinner."

"Aa." Kusuo nodded, then paused. "Yumehara-san."

She looked back, her head cocked. "Hai?"

"I…apologize for dragging you into this. Everyone else has some sort of power to protect themselves, but you're just a normal girl."

Yumehara scoffed, then laughed out right as she waved him off. "Don't be silly, Saiki-san. We're friends, after all, and what sort of person would I be if I didn't want to help my friends?"

Thrown a bit by Yumehara's subtle confidence—but then, hadn't she acted the same way in Oshimi-ken when Shun had been so insistent about the heinous crime of keeping secrets?—Kusuo almost didn't have time to say anything before she ducked out of the room.

"Yumehara-san."

She poked her head around the corner, confused but smiling. "Hai, Saiki-san?"

"If we're friends, it's fine to call me Kusuo."

Yumehara's mouth opened to a surprised 'o' before a wide grin took over. "Hai, Kusuo-kun!" She wagged a scolding finger. "But only if you call me Chiyo, too!"

"Hai, Chiyo-san."

The girls and Yuuta gone, Kusuo took in a silent, steeling breath and turned to the low kotatsu table (set up for summer, obviously) and met Aiura's accusing eyes.

"So I guess everyone gets to call you Kusuo now, ne?" She sighed and dropped her chin onto her palm. "And for a while, I really thought I was something special, you know?"

Kusuo groaned internally. How was he even supposed to have this conversation? Talking was never his strong suit, but now he was supposed to put something so complicated and intense and…and personal into words? He didn't even know where to start.

Yare, yare. This wouldn't be happening with telepathy. At least then Kusuo would know what not to say.

"So this is your room, huh?" Aiura's tone was unnaturally monotone. She tapped one primly painted nail against her right cheek as she spoke, her eyes slowly roving the neat and tidy guest space. "Funny, Teruhashi said this was her room."

Of course this would be where Aiura chose to start. Kusuo felt a headache forming between his eyes and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Yare, yare.

"It is," he said at last. No point in beating around the bush.

Aiura's posture tightened up, her head sinking deeper into her shoulders. "I see."

Silence. Should he say something else? But what?

"Mou! This is so frustrating!" Aiura dropped her forehead against the table top and pounded it with both fists. "How did this even happen? Is it because she met you first? Because if that's the case, then I never stood a chance!"

She propped her chin on the table and looked up at him, real tears lining her eyes as her lower lip trembled with suppressed emotion. "What did I do wrong? Am I not pretty enough? Am I too loud? Should I have approached you differently? Acted more demure?"

"You tried that," Kusuo couldn't help but say. "And I already told you, I like people who are themselves."

Instead of looking relieved, Aiura looked crushed. "Which just means that who I am isn't good enough for you, right? Even after everything?" Her broken expression took on undertones of anger as her stretched out hands formed trembling fists. "I did everything you ever asked me to, Kusuo! I kept your secret, stopped using my powers so much, I even stopped a volcano with you! But none of that was enough, was it? You just took and took and took and couldn't be bothered to give me the one thing I asked for in return!"

Shock, anger, even disgust knotted in Kusuo's stomach, burning their way up to his heart. "You're forgetting something, Aiura-san: I never asked for your affection. I've told you again and again that I don't feel that way for you. And yes, I asked you for help on occasion, but more often than not, you volunteered. I'm sorry I can't return your feelings, but I won't let you sit there and believe I owe it to you to love you like you say you love me. And honestly, if you do love me, you'll respect the decision I've made."

Kusuo pressed a hand to his chest, glaring down at her. "I am my own person. I am allowed my own feelings, my own wants, my own desires. I'm grateful to you, I think of you as my friend and I want to stay friends. Not because of what you can do—or what you can do for me—but because you've always been a good, honest, earnest person, and I like that about you."

Aiura stared up at him, gobsmacked. "You…like me?"

Kusuo's smoldering anger softened. "Just because I don't love you, Aiura-san, doesn't mean I hate you."

"Mikoto." She sniffled and scrubbed at her nose with the back of one fist. "If we're going to be friends, you might as well call me Mikoto like you do with Chiyo-pipi."

"I can't imagine why I would ever call Chiyo-san 'Makoto-san,'" Kusuo said dryly. "But I accept your offer, Makoto-san."

She managed a watery smile. "It will take some getting used to, you know. I can't just stop liking you all of a sudden, and I can't promise I won't get jealous every now and then."

"As long as you're respectful of my feelings, Mikoto-san, I would never dream of disrespecting yours."

Sighing, Mikoto drew her arms in until they were folded beneath her chin. "I guess that's the best I can hope for right now." A wry smirk crossed her tear-stained face. "Well, that, and that you and Koko-shi break up."

Not gonna happen. Kusuo was surprised by the vehemence of that thought but did his best not to show it as he nodded. "Fair enough."

"Hn." Mikoto pressed her hands flat against the table and levered herself up onto wobbly legs. "You mind if I use your sink?" She waved a hand at her smeared mascara. "I don't have to look in a mirror to know I'd make a good Sadako."

Kusuo nodded. "Of course. And Mikoto-san?"

"Hn?" She stumbled to the sink and twisted the knobs, testing the water temperature on the inside of her wrist.

"I am sorry."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off with a grin, though it was a mere shadow of her usual exuberance. "Just go on to dinner and let me get cleaned up, okay?"

Knowing that lingering would only hurt her more, Kusuo nodded and left the room, sliding the door closed. He'd barely taken a single step before sobs drifted through the thin rice-paper screen. Clenching his fist, Kusuo closed his eyes and wished things could be different. He would never—could never—love Mikoto the way she wanted him to, not in this timeline anyway, but he did wish he didn't have to hurt her so deeply.

Not able to handle her silent sobbing any longer, Kusuo opened his eyes and followed Natsuko's mental map to the main dining room.

* * *

Kaliea: So I'll admit that I find the core cast much easier to write than the secondary cast, but I also know that they are just as important. They're also surprisingly full, fleshed out characters and I want to do them justice, which means acknowledging Aiura's feelings for Kusuo and giving them closure. Or at least the beginnings of closure. I have an idea I've been tinkering with regarding Aiura's "destined one" with the initials S.K., but I don't know if that will be included in the main body of this story. Since everything is told in Kusuo's pov, it might be difficult to delve deeper into Aiura's side of things without violating the pov rules I've already established. Maybe I'll to intermission-type episodes from other povs or maybe one-shot tie-ins after it's all over. I dunno; I haven't had much time to think about it, but we'll see.

And speaking of not much time, I was hoping I would have more now that classes are done for spring and summer, but I'm working on my Thesis project (which is a full-length novel), my project proposal, my job as an RA, etc. etc. I'll try to get back to more frequent updates, but for now, I really appreciate your patience.

Thanks for reading!

-Kaliea


	32. Training Schedule

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

* * *

Oh goody. The gang's all here.

Yare yare.

* * *

**Training Schedule**

Kusuo slid the dining room door open and paused. It was jammed full of people. So much so that he stood in the doorway for several long seconds and debated whether he should just slide the door back closed and go foraging for something to eat in the woods surrounding the temple compound.

"Kusuo-kun!"

Annoyance burned up the back of Kusuo's neck and he glared at Kokomi. She'd half stood from her seat to wave him over, and her cheeks pinked at his sudden, sharp attention. She offered up a sheepish smile and sat back down, patting the empty cushion to her left since Yuuta was seated on her right.

"We saved you a space, Kusuo."

His glare softening—she would get used to using just his name eventually—Kusuo nodded and skirted the edge of the room so he could take the offered seat.

"Hey, Kid," Urameshi said as Kusuo folded himself onto the cushion butterfly style and accepted the heaping bowl of rice Kokomi passed his way. Urameshi grinned. "Long time no see!"

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. I literally saw you just a few hours ago.

"Yusuke," Keiko nudged her husband, her cheeks lightly pinked. "Don't be such a pig."

"Why is papa being a pig?" said the short-haired Urameshi twin. Reiko, if Kusuo remembered right. Which, obviously, he did.

"Is it cause nii-san and nee-san are all lovey-dovey?" asked the long-haired twin, Yuuko. "Cause mama and papa are lovey-dovey—"

"—and mama doesn't call papa a pig then."

"Don't ask complicated questions at dinner," Keiko said, her face flushing an even deeper red. "Ask me again at bedtime."

"Kay!" Both twins said together in their creepy tandem before reaching for their little rice bowls at the same time to be offered up to their mother to fill. They were like those twins from that American horror film, the Shining.

Creepy.

"Saiki-san," Yukina said, her voice soft and somehow fragile. "Is your friend Aiura-san not joining us?"

Kusuo stifled a wince at the reminder of how he'd just left Mikoto to sob alone in his room and shook his head. "She had some things to take care of. She might come later or one of us will fix her a tray."

Yukina nodded but didn't look particularly invested—or even aware—of his response as she gracefully packed rice into a small, obnoxiously red bowl that she then set in front of a small boy—probably a year or so younger than Yuuta—with mint green hair tussled by untamed curls. It took a moment for Kusuo to remember that Natsuko had been banished from that first meeting between her father and Kusuo's group to help care for her brother, Yukito.

This child must be that brother.

"Oh!" Natsuko said, sitting suddenly straighter—though considering her naturally rigid posture, Kusuo hadn't realized that was possible. "How rude of us!" She bowed gracefully, eliciting the expected round of 'ng's and only one 'offu'. "You all must be quite confused."

Straightening up, Natsuko shifted to a presenting position and made the introductions. "I am certain you remember my uncle, Urameshi Yusuke."

Urameshi grinned and offered a two fingered wave. "Yo. And of course, this is my wife Keiko and two of my kids, Reiko and Yuuko."

"Hello!"

"It's nice to meet you all properly."

Natsuko smiled at her uncle's family before motioning around them to the pretty blue-haired girl who could walk through walls. "This is Minamino Botan, another of my adopted aunts. She is married to my uncle Minamino Shuuichi—who goes by Kurama to those of his inner circle. He is a spirit fox, you see, but his mother and step-family are still unaware of his true history before he brought himself to ningen-kai to be reporn as a human."

Kusuo and his friends stared between Natsuko and Botan, and if Kusuo's own mental state was anything to go by, none of his friends had any idea what to say to that.

And I thought my friends were weird.

"Good to meet you kids!" Botan said, her grin so bright it lit her lavender eyes from the inside. She leaned forward, almost lunging across the table with her hands clasped and her eyes dripping stars. "I really must say, Saiki-kun, that you almost stole my heart with your display at the amphitheater! Your willingness to sacrifice yourself to protect KoKo and ReiRei, and of course your own little Yuu-chan, well! I just about melted in my shoes!"

She pressed a hand to her chest while the other propped her up against the center of the table. If she leaned forward any further, her nose would press up against Kusuo's even though he was doing his best to lean back out of range.

"I'll have you know that I haven't seen such a display of chivalry since my own Kurama-kun was your age!" The blunette's expression turned inward and swoony. "Well, except for my Kurama-kun of course. He's always chivalrous…"

Urameshi reached around his wife's back to snag the hem of Botan's striped pink shirt and tug. Botan yelped as she crashed back onto her cushion. "Ow!" Rubbing her bottom, she glared at Urameshi. "Hey, now, Yusuke! Is that any way to treat a girl?"

"Had to shut you up somehow or you'd keep babbling for hours, and I'm hungry dammit!"

"Well excuse me for having manners, you demon world neanderthal!"

"What'd you say, cotton-candy head?!"

"You heard me, trigger-happy freak!"

Botan and Urameshi were on their feet, nose to nose, with poor Keiko trapped between them. The brunette woman sighed. "Yusuke."

His name was the only thing she said—she didn't even sound angry, just exasperated—but suddenly Urameshi was back on his cushion with a nervous grin as he side-eyed his wife. "Sorry, Keiko. Got carried away." He cleared his throat as Botan settled back on her knees and continued the introductions. "You guys know Nadeshiko, of course. Her parents will drop by later to help you guys train."

Yamato grunted, her chin propped on her palm as she leaned heavily on the table. "And that's everybody," she said, scowling. "Can we eat now?"

"Nadi-chan, there's no need to be so rude."

Yamato groaned and dropped her forehead onto the table. She waved a hand over her head, pointing to each of Kusuo's friends in turn. "Nendou, Kaidoh, Yumehara, Mera, Kuboyasu, Hairo, Saiki, Teruhashi, Yuuta, Akeshi, Toritsuka, and Aiura is bitching in the love-birds' room. There, we all know each other. Can we eat now?"

Urameshi laughed before Natsuko could again scold her cousin for being rude. "Yeah, kid, let's eat. Is that okay, Yukina?"

"Hm?" Yukina started at the sudden address and looked around with bewildered red eyes. "Oh. Yes, of course."

All around the table, hands clapped together in thanks. "Itadakimasu!"

For a while, everyone was too busy stuffing their faces to talk—the food was absolutely amazing—but all too soon, Yamato spoke up, and it was all Kusuo could do to stop a snarky remark about her irritating voice ruining the taste of the food.

"Natsu and I worked out your training schedules while you guys were off doing whatever today. We had to tweak somethings after the shit that went down at USJ, but the plan's solid now."

"Language, Nadi."

"Sorry, Keiko-ba," Yamato said blandly, obviously more reflexive than remorseful. She fished a piece of paper out of her pocket and flattened it against the tabletop with one hand. "So the next week will be prep work. Can't have you idiots running off half-cocked like you have any fucking clue—sorry Keiko-ba—what you're up against."

She pointed at a row of individual blocks that pared names together, some of which Kusuo knew and others he very much didn't.

"Teruhashi will spend her mornings with Natsu to try and teach her how to close her territory. If she manages that, they'll move on to training for control and mastery later in the week. Aiura is with me, practicing foresight, Akechi in the dojo with Touya-jii and Jin-ji to beat the timidity out of him and see if he has combat applications for that crazy brain computer of his. Mera is with Mitani—he's the only psycic we have who remembers that freaky Gormet guy, and your powers are similar enough that he should be able to give you some pointers. Yours and Gormets, not yours and Mitani's."

Her eyes landed on Chiyo next and Yamato frowned. "Not sure what to do with you, really, since you don't have a power. You wanna learn kendo or judo or something?"

"Yes!" Chiyo said almost before Yamato had finished speaking. She blushed at the sudden, surprised attention of Shun and the rest but pushed on without backing down. "I don't want to be left out of this, which means I need to be strong enough to protect myself. I'll do whatever you think is needed to make that happen."

Yamato actually smiled at Chiyo. "You've got some real guts, no doubt about that." She paused, thoughtful, her eyes sliding to Keiko, who nodded and smiled back.

"I would be more than happy to help her," Keiko said. "Would that be all right with you, Yumehara-san?"

"Ah, um, please," Chiyo bowed politely, which Keiko returned.

"If you're gonna work with Keiko, I should bring kids," Yusuke said. "The twins are too short to spar with you, but Kota will be glad to help out."

"Glad to help out?" Botan said, surprise in her voice as she pointed at Yusuke with her chopsticks. "That boy is just like you were, way back when, and you really expect him to 'gladly help' some random girl—no offense, Yumehara-san—with beginner martial arts?"

"Yup," Yusuke said, cracking his knuckles. "Or else I'll give him something to be glad about, the little bastard."

Keiko rolled her eyes. "That literally makes no sense, Yusuke." A light blush dusted her cheeks. "And can you please stop bringing that up? We were married before he was born!"

"Barely," Botan chirped. "I thought for sure you were going to pop before Kurama-kun and the other boys managed to drag him back from Demon World to sign and stamp the registry."

"Anyway!" Yamato broke in, and thank kami because Kusuo didn't think he could take any more domestic shenanigans. "Depending on when Kazu-ji decides to show back up—sorry Yuki-ba—Toritsuka will train with him to hone his sixth sense. Until then, you'll be working with my mom and Bo-chan." Yamato shot Toritsuka a feral grin. "Aren't you the lucky bastard?"

"Nadi."

"Sorry, Keiko-ba."

"And the rest of us?" Hairo asked, sounding more curious than annoyed at being left for last.

"Hm?" Yamato stared at him a moment, as if lost in thought, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I was thinking about how much fun mom will have with your pervy friend." Toritsuka whimpered at that, not that Kusuo could blame him. "What did you say?"

Hairo motioned between himself and the other Reborn. "What will the five of us be doing."

"Oh, you'll be working with my dad. He has some top-secret video files for you to watch or some shit like that. Sorry Keiko-ba."

Keiko sighed. "We both know you're not actually sorry, Nadi, so why bother apologizing?"

Yamato shrugged. "Because you expect me to."

"Smart girl," Yusuke muttered, then grunted when Keiko's elbow dug into his side.

"Shun," Kusuo said, frowning at his pale, trembling friend who looked like he was staring a particularly gruesome-looking ghost in the face. "What is it?"

"W-w-we're going to be t-t-t-train-ing with G-G-God?!"

"Psh, hell no," Yamato said, waving an absent hand as she used her chopsticks to sift through the tray of sashimi for an elusive piece of salmon. She didn't even bother to look up. "My dad is awesome, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to fighting, you're better off asking Yuki-chan over there. At least he knows how to punch something without breaking his hand."

Natsuko frowned. "That's not very fair, Nadi-chan. Don't you remember what Shizuru-ba-san said about how he defended her from those street thugs?"

"Video or it didn't happen." Yamato stuffed the slice of pink fish she found between her lips with a contented sigh. "My point, though, is no. Dad won't be training you guys, he's showing you video files. Apparently, they'll help you figure out how to channel your spirit energy faster or some shit. I don't know and don't care as long as I don't have to babysit you."

"And Yuu-chan?" Kokomi asked. The boy perked up at his name, turning away from his across-the-table near-babbling conversation with the Kuwabara boy, Yukito.

Yamato shrugged. "Take him with you, leave him with Yuki-ba, lock him in your rooms. Whatever. Actually, scratch that, just leave him with Yuki-ba. She'll be watching Kora, Yuki, and the twins too, probably, so what's one more kid?"

Yusuke swatted the back of Yamato's head, making her yelp. "The hell, Yuu-ji?"

"Don't just go volunteering people, Nadi. Who the hell raised you?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Yukina said before turning questioning red eyes on Kusuo and Kokomi. "That is, if it is all right with you?"

Kusuo shot Kokomi a questioning glance. She looked uneasy at the proposal, and Kusuo didn't blame her. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the thought of letting the boy out of his sight either, but if it was only during the morning while Kokomi was training, and the compound was supposed to be sealed and hidden away so Akemi Homura and her people couldn't find it...

Yare, yare; how did my life end up like this?

Offering up a deliberately casual shrug, Kusuo left the decision in Kokomi's hands. Considering he was supposed to be reviewing top-secret material from the world of the dead (and seriously, the fuck was his life now?) he doubted that was something Yuuta would find interesting. And depending on the content, Kusuo was pretty sure he wouldn't want the boy to watch it anyway. That all meant Kokomi would be the one watching him most of the day until Kusuo could get away, and he didn't want to put more on her than she was willing to take.

"Well, then, I suppose..." She glanced down at Yuuta while working her lower lip between her teeth. "What do you think, Yuu-chan? Do you want to spend tomorrow with Yukito-chan and his friends?"

Yuuta's eyes went wide with excitement. "Can I, Ane?"

"...Only if you promise to be good for Yukina-san."

"I promise!"

"Glad that shit's all out of the way," Yamato said, dumping more tempura onto her plate from the bamboo bowl they were in. "Now eat, drink, mingle; I don't care. Just let me eat in peace."

Kuboyasu scoffed and muttered, "She's the one who brought it up in the first place."

Mera muttered something unintelligible through her mouthful of food. She swallowed what she had before reaching for the rice bucket to pile more into both her bowl and Kuboyasu's.

"Eat," she said, jabbing her chopsticks his way. "Or do you want to be useless when the fighting starts?"

"Who're you calling useless?!" Kuboyasu snatched up his bowl and shoveled the rice into his mouth at warp-speed.

"Are you okay, Kaidoh-kun?" Chiyo said softly, her right hand coming down atop his pale and trembling left. He jumped and stared at her like she was some strange creature he'd never seen before.

"Oh, um, fine." He forced a smile but didn't try to retract his hand. "Thanks, Yumehara."

Kusuo sat in silence as he ate, trying to digest everything that had happened over the last few days. He'd thought for sure his life couldn't get any crazier than when that Amamiya guy showed up at Yuuta's birthday party shouting nonsense about Dark Reunion, but somehow, Kusuo couldn't doubt that someday he would look back on this summer and realize that was actually the least craziest thing to happen. Swallowing a sigh, Kusuo picked at his food, forcing himself to eat. Like Mera said, he couldn't let himself be weak when the fighting started, and since he didn't know when that would be, he couldn't afford not to eat when food was in front of him.

Finishing only what was originally placed in front of him, Kusuo laid his chopsticks across his plate and bowed. "Gochiso sama deshita."

The more polite hosts (so not Yamato or Urameshi) responded appropriately, and Kusuo asked, "The dishes?"

"Oh don't worry about that, Saiki-san," Keiko said, smiling and waving him off with her chopsticks. "We'll take care of things tonight; you just get your rest for tomorrow. If Koenma is showing you what I think he is, you'll definitely need it."

A bit unnerved but unwilling to show it, Kusuo bowed before shifting to Kokomi with a raised brow. She shook her head.

"You and Yuu-chan should take a bath," she said. "I want to visit Nii-san first." She glanced at Yukina, worrying her lower lip. "If that's all right?"

"Oh, of course! I should have offered to take you to see him sooner." She shook her head and pressed a hand to her cheek with a despondent sigh. "I'm afraid I'm not at my best right now..." She shook her head again and forced a smile. "Just let me know when you are ready, Teruhashi-san."

"Thank you, Yukina-san. You all done, Yuu-chan?"

"Yup! Gochi-sama des-sa!"

A wave of muffled snickers went around the table while several of the girls coo-ed at Yuuta's 'inerrant adorableness'. Rolling his eyes, Kusuo stood and held out a hand. "Come on, Yuuta."

Yuuta took Kusuo's hand and stood, bowing to the packed table in imitation of Kusuo. Then, once strait again, Yuuta waved at everyone as Kusuo led him toward the door.

"Good night! See you tomorrow, Yuki!"

Yukito waved back. "Night-night, Yuu-chan!"

Once in the hall, the door closed behind them, Kusuo had barely realized that he didn't know where the bath was before a mental map appeared unexpectedly in his head. He stiffened, shuddered, and muttered, "Fuck, that's unnerving."

"Did you say something, Ani?"

"No, Yuuta." Because like hell Kusuo was stupid enough to repeat what he'd said loud enough for Yuuta to hear. Kokomi would skin him alive and smile angelically while doing it. "Let's get you ready for bed, kay? It's been a very, _very_ long day."

* * *

Kaliea: Still on the filler, but things should (hopefully) start moving faster in the next chapter. The first week of training, at least, should be easy to sum-up and after that, I only plan to focus on the highlights. I haven't yet decided when Kuwabara will pop back up, but he'll have some very important information once he does. Thanks to all of my reviewers so far! This story has been a blast to write, and I hope at least entertaining to read :) I don't have any other really crazy things to throw at you guys (read: no more major cross-overs) but I still have some ideas that will-in theory-keep you guessing.

Thanks for reading!

-Kaliea


	33. This is Stupid

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

* * *

_This is stupid._

_It's been almost a week since we came to this temple, and do you know what I've spent the last five days doing? Watching a TV show._

_That's right. **A TV show**._

_Okay, fine, so it's an edited version of the security footage Koenma-sama apparently recorded during Urameshi's stint as Spirit Detective twenty years ago or so. But it's edited into an episodic format with introductions voiced over by a narrator and next-episode previews by the characters, and it even has opening and closing credits! _

_And seriously, why do we have to watch the credits every time?! Each episode is already 25 minutes long on its own, and there are 112 episodes. That's 47 hours of viewing. Add in all the credits and narration and that's a whole nine hours added!_

_This is **stupid**._

_(Spoilers, btw.)_

* * *

**This is Stupid**

Eight hours of marathon watching for five days straight, and there were still two full days left. Kusuo stifled a groan as he climbed to his feet. They had just finished episode 80, _Moving Target_, and as annoyed as he was by being forced to binge-watch someone else's life, Kusuo had to admit Urameshi had lived an interesting one.

In a single year, only a few weeks after starting his senior year of junior high, Urameshi Yusuke had died, come back from the dead, become the spirit detective for the real-world equivalent of Limbo, fought and defeated a band of thieves, fought and defeated a technique stealing demon to become Genkai's apprentice, joined forces with Kurama and Hiei (the treasure thieves) as well as Kuwabara to fight and defeat the Four Saint Beasts (which was a Chinese legend, so what the hell?), fought and defeated the Toguro Brothers to rescue Yukina, found out the Toguro brothers faked their deaths and had to enter the Dark Tournament, fought and defeated their ways through the Dark Tournament, lost Genkai, fought and defeated the Toguro brothers for real, got Genkai back after Koenma resurrected her only to return home where Urameshi was kidnapped by a bunch of psychic thugs on Genkai's orders so she could explain to him and the others what a territory was, how they came about, and what that meant for the world.

And what did it mean exactly? That someone was trying to open a portal to the demon world in Mushiori City, which pumped the citizens of the city, especially the younger ones, full of demon energy that triggered a mutation in their own natural spirit energy to create psychic energy. After learning from Koenma that they only had three weeks in which to close the portal for good lest the human world be overrun by man-eating demons, Urameshi and his friends were caught up in a bombing, Keiko was shot up with a psychically created poison, Urameshi had to kill his first human, Kuwabara was ambushed and kidnapped, and Urameshi hunted down by a deranged psychic sniper.

And there were still thirty-two episodes to go.

"Oh man, oh man!" Nendou said, swinging his hands around as if he held a sword. "Did you guys see that ji-go-to thing? That was amazing, man! Kuwabara-jiji is awesome!"

"Nendou!" Shun squeaked. "You can't call God 'old man'! What if he strikes you with lightning?"

"Can he even do that?" Hairo wondered, pressing a fist to his chin as he and the rest strolled the halls of the main house toward the room they had taken to using for evening meals. There were so many people staying at the main house, now, that they had to remove the inner doors from three different rooms to create one enormous space on the left side of the house. Finely crafted tables were set end-to-end, spanning the length of the room, with cushions set on the tatami mats for comfort. Yukina and, surprisingly, Urameshi did most of the cooking, but Keiko and her oldest son regularly helped when they weren't teaching Chiyo jiujitsu.

"No way!" Kuboyasu said, drawing his thumb across his throat for some reason. "If he could, why not use it against that creepy, water thing instead of that flashy sword?"

"It's been twenty years, man," Hairo said, pointing at Kuboyasu with one finger. "Who knows what crazy stuff he could have learned in the interim."

"Inter-what?"

Kusuo slid open the door leading to the improvised dining room, successfully diverting Kuboyasu's attention once he noticed that Mera—as usual—was already inside.

"Oh! Hey, Mera!" Kuboyasu pushed his way to the front and sat hard on the cushion beside Mera in his usual Yankee way. He grinned at her, blood lust in his eyes, as he said, "Learn anything new today?"

Mera nodded, smiling brightly. "Mitani-san and I learned that I don't absorb powers if I eat people."

Everyone stared at her as a cold, unsettling air filled the room.

_Say what_?

"Oh yeah?" Kuboyasu leaned forward, apparently the only one unbothered by what she had just said. "Who did you eat?"

_Say_ **_what_**?

"No, no." Mera waved her hand as she munched on a whole turkey leg. Urameshi had gotten more and more creative with the meals after learning Mera metabolized food into spirit energy. The better quality the food, the more energy she had. Or something. Kusuo wasn't entirely sure as all his information came third hand from Kokomi.

"I didn't eat anyone," she continued. "I couldn't open my mouth wide enough."

Kuboyasu nodded as if that was completely normal. "I see."

More people filtered in and Kusuo wandered to his usual spot. Urameshi and Yukina bustled in and out of the kitchen, flanked on every side by 'friends of the family.' Kusuo recognized a lot of them now, having seen many of them appear during the Dark Tournament Arc. Juri and her oldest daughter, Kin, carried in plates of sashimi while her youngest daughter—five-year-old Tsukimi—balanced a plate holding two perfectly formed rice balls.

Kokomi appeared amidst the helping hands—as usual—chatting with Chiyo with a brilliant grin on her face. She was less blinding now, having learned to temporarily turn off her territory. It was difficult for her, apparently. Since Kokomi was born with her territory open, it was less natural for her to close it than to just always leave it open. It seemed Natsuko had the same problem, which is why she rarely turned her territory off while at home. Everyone there was immune to her for various reasons. Some were too young to be interested in girls, some weren't interested in girls at all, and others were already in love with someone else.

When Kusuo learned that Natsuko's territory followed the same rules that Kokomi's did, he'd been surprised, at first, that he'd been immune to her. Of course, he'd been immune to Kokomi too, all the way back when, but he also hadn't gotten the full brunt of her territory until after he got rid of her powers and could see her. Because, apparently, Kokomi's territory was sight-based. If she couldn't be seen, her territory was ineffective.

"But even when you could see me, you still didn't offu," Kokomi had said one night as they readied for bed. "I wonder why that is?"

Kusuo had only shrugged, not venturing an answer. Though if he had to guess, it would probably be that he already fell outside the rules of her territory. And since he was neither too young to be interested in girls nor (obviously) disinterested in girls all together, (or unrealistically wholesome like Hairo) there really was only one explanation.

He had already been in love with her.

"Kusuo!" Kokomi beamed as she set a tray of grilled eel on the table in front of him. She sat on her usual cushion with Chiyo taking the seat beside her. "You'll never guess what happened today!"

_Seeing as I'm no longer telepathic, you would be correct in that assumption_.

Knowing better than to bait her out loud, Kusuo just said, "Oh?"

"I finished my territory training! I've been practicing on intensity levels with Natsuko-san, and she said I'm ready to start weaponizing it! I'm starting jiujitsu with Chiyo-chan tomorrow."

"Congratulations," Kusuo said, nodding as he set two pieces of eel on his plate and a third on the plate between him and Kokomi. Yuuta would come wandering in with his new friends in a few minutes, and Kusuo had to make sure his plate was full before the boy sat down or he would complain about the amount of food. He liked to eat quickly so he could run outside and play more after dinner.

Like Kusuo, Kokomi absently filled Yuuta's plate as she spoke. "Thank you! This whole territory thing is really amazing, you know? I cranked the level all the way up and made Rinku-san 'ng'!"

Kusuo frowned and cut a glance at Kokomi. "The yo-yo kid?"

"Kid?" Kokomi asked, tilting her head to the side. "Rinku-san our age, you know. At least, he _looks_ like he's our age. He's actually a lot older, but I don't know by how much."

Kusuo sighed, not willing to admit that he wasn't thrilled by the idea of her practicing her territory on someone their age—someone he knew from Urameshi's Spirit Detective Documentary was a very capable and dangerous demon warrior. Still, nothing had happened, and he wasn't about to go around telling her who she could and couldn't practice with. She was his girlfriend, not his pet, and he had no right to control her.

That didn't make his stomach churn any less with irritation, but he was man enough to deal with it.

The kids arrived soon after, and Yuuta plopped onto his cushion between Kusuo and Kokomi while chattering a mile a minute. Kusuo was glad to see the boy was coping so well, especially after what Botan reported to them yesterday via her husband, Kurama.

Apparently, Kurama—in his guise as Minamino Shuichi—was a highly renowned doctor at a well-respected hospital in Tokyo. He had called around looking for any information regarding Iridatsu Hitomi—Yuuta's mother. After almost four days of searching, he found her. Or, more specifically, he found what was left of her.

Hitomi was visiting her parents to help care for her sick mother, but there was a gas-leak and the house exploded while everyone was sleeping.

Or so went the official story. Unofficially, Kurama believes the fire was actually the work of someone with fire abilities. Either a fire-based demon or a psychic with pyrokinesis. Whoever it was, they better pray Kusuo never got ahold of them. Strange as it may seem, he had learned a great deal about manipulating spirit energy just by watching the Ghost Files.

_Which was probably Koenma-sama's intention, but whatever. It's still stupid_.

Speaking of Koenma, the young deity was sitting at the head of the table with his daughter Yamato Nadeshiko to his left but the seat on his right was vacant. That was where his wife, Yamato Shizuru, always sat. Toritsuka hadn't arrived yet either. Kusuo sighed and ate a clump of rice. Considering how much Kusuo disliked the creepy perv, he was surprised by how sorry he felt for the guy. He always stumbled into dinner looking like death warmed over. Whatever sort of training Shizuru and Botan were putting him through, it was obviously intense. Toritsuka hadn't looked this run-down since those three days he'd spent fasting while Kusuo had (gleefully) tortured him psychologically.

_Sigh. Good times_.

Right on cue, the door slid open and Shizuru stepped inside. Koenma looked up from his meal and smiled at his wife. It was a soft, pleased smile that made everyone in the room feel oddly warm. Even Kusuo. The god literally radiated love for his wife, and it made Kusuo's heart ache every time he saw it because that was the same sort of love and devotion his father had always shown his mother.

The same sort of love and devotion his father would never be able to show again.

Kusuo swallowed his rice hard as Shizuru knelt on the cushion beside her husband and grabbed the front of his robes.

"Shizuru, we're in public—" Koenma started but his wife cut him off with a searing kiss. Everyone looked away, embarrassed by the intimate display even though it happened every night. Kusuo looked down at his rice bowl, still half-filled with sweet rice, and couldn't bring himself to eat anything more.

His mother and brother had been relocated to the temple compound. Unlike his friends' families, Mom and Kusuke were directly in Akemi Homura's sights and they needed to be protected lest she send some other minion to finish the job. Kusuo made sure to see her at least once a day, and Kokomi spent the evening talking with her on the engawa as they watched Yuuta play, but she wasn't the same anymore and probably never would be again.

Something inside of her died with Dad, and Kusuo had no idea how to bring it back. He honestly doubted he even could.

Kusuke wasn't much better. Honestly, he was probably worse. Like Mom, he didn't come to the dining room for meals, but he also never left his room at all. He'd requested, and was granted, a small living space in the dead center of the main house. He had no windows and was so far from the outside that no natural light could reach him. Kusuo had stopped in to visit once or twice, but Kusuke didn't even acknowledge him as he sat at his desk scribbling in a notebook and muttering to himself endlessly. There was a plate of food beside him, but it had barely been picked at. Kusuo hoped that was because the plate had only just arrived and not because his brother was too wrapped up in whatever he was doing to eat.

Considering it had been almost midnight when Kusuo had checked in that last time, his hopes were undoubtedly in vain.

"Kusuo." Kokomi's hand settled over his, and Kusuo jumped. Even after all these months, sudden movements still surprised him. Especially if he was lost in thought. He glanced at her. She was leaning over Yuuta, who happily shoveled food in his mouth as fast as he could without choking or being scolded by Kokomi for being rude. She had that look on her face again. The one that said she knew what he was thinking and was feeling his pain.

Kusuo sighed and set his bowl down to rest a hand over hers. "I'm fine," he said softly. "Just…thinking."

"We'll figure this out, Kusuo," she said, lacing their fingers together behind Yuuta's back. "I know this isn't the sort of change we can fully recover from, but things will get better. Your father would want that."

Kusuo nodded and squeezed her hand. He felt the sudden urge to hold her. He wanted to stroke her hair and kiss her face and bury his nose in her shoulder. They hadn't been intimate at all since that afternoon five days ago, and Kusuo hadn't thought twice about it.

Well, that wasn't true. He'd thought about what they had done—it was a warm, gentle memory to keep him company during his long hours trapped in front of a television with four other guys—but he hadn't been interested in repeating the event. He liked to hold her as they slept—something Kokomi found adorable—but other than a few chaste kisses, that was it. He hadn't hated being with her, and he wasn't opposed to being with her again, he just hadn't felt that same driving need as before.

He was feeling it now. It was much softer than before—more of a gentle simmer than the roaring flame that had driven him to take her into his arms and make her his—but it was definitely there. Kusuo tightened his grip on Kokomi's fingers, his eyes roaming her face as he remembered that beautiful expression of ecstasy she'd worn as he—

"Ehem!" Natsuko's sudden cough jolted Kusuo from his thoughts, and he glanced over. The blind girl was blushing a brilliant red as she sipped her tea. Both of her hands were shaking slightly.

Kusuo blushed and looked away_. Right. She can hear my thoughts_.

He really needed to find a new germanium ring. And soon.

Beside him, Kokomi was blushing just as heavily, if not more so. Kusuo would almost swear he saw smoke coming from her ears. Still, she clutched his hand tightly with her own, and Kusuo almost smiled. It seemed they would need to put Yuuta to bed early tonight.

A sudden, brilliant glow slashed through the air—literally. There was a surprised shout as the space above the very center of the table split beneath a glowing, golden blade. Kusuo stared at the energy sword as it cut through space. He'd seen it before, of course. Natsuko had used her golden naginata to open that first doorway to the temple and later that same day, Kuwabara had opened a door onto the school roof using his sword.

The same sword Kusuo had just seen slice a water-monster in half a few hours before.

The same sword Kusuo was watching slice open the empty air right now.

Kuwabara fell through the dimensional gap, a strange man with long blue hair slicked straight up in the oddest hairstyle Kusuo had seen in a while. They slammed onto the table, scattering food and crockery in all directions as shocked and panicked shouts rose around the table. Kusuo shifted himself so he had Kokomi and Yuuta blocked from the opening in space, and he didn't have to look back to know Kokomi had the small boy in a tight embrace.

The glowing gash was closing rapidly—too rapidly for anyone else to follow—but there was enough time for Kusuo to meet a pair of dead violet eyes that stared through the hole with a dark, writhing hatred. Her inky black hair fluttered about her in that same artificial wind that always seemed to follow her as she stared directly into Kusuo's eyes.

"I found you," she said just as the portal closed. The rest of her words stabbed through the remaining space, her ethereal voice seeming to echo through the room even as it pierced right through Kusuo's ears and into his brain.

"Wait for me," said Akemi's disembodied voice. "Madoka."

* * *

Kaliea: Kuwabara is back! Yay! And who could he have possibly brought along with him? If you've seen Yu Yu Hakusho, then you probably have a guess, if you haven't, then you'll find out soon(-ish; I'm super absorbed in the book I have to write for my thesis project right now).

Also, I just realized I never told you about the Yu Yu gang's kids. I don't know which of them will be showing up prominently yet, but I figured I'd at least fill you in on their names so you can be in on the 'terrible names' joke Nadeshiko brought up way way back in chapter...something. Fourteen?

Anywho!

**Kuwabara and Yukina's Kids:**

Kuwabara Natsuko - age 18 - her kanji is read as 'summer child'

Kuwabara Yukito - age 4 - his kanji is read as 'melting snow'

**Koenma and Shizuru's Kids:**

Yamato Nadeshiko - age 17 - the meaning of her name should be pretty obvious

Yamato Makoshi - age 14 - he was named after his parents ('ma' from Koenma, 'shi' from Shizuru, and 'ko' meaning child), but his kanji is read as 'quiet demon child'. He prefers to use hirigana to write his name because he finds the kanji embarrassing.

Yamato Kora - age 5 - her name means 'sky child'

**Yusuke and Keiko's Kids:**

Urameshi Makota - age 13 - his kanji is read as 'huge demon'. He always goes by Kota so he and Makoshi don't get confused.

Urameshi Reiko - age 6 - her kanji means 'spirit child'

Urameshi Yuuko - age 6 - her kanji reads as 'ghost girl'

**Kurama and Botan's Kids:**

Minamino Shinne - age 13 - his kanji reads as 'spirit fox'

Minamino Katoko - age 8 - her kanji reads as 'ferry girl'

Also, for those of you who may be wondering, Hiei doesn't have any children. He still has...issues...stemming from his own childhood. He is a surprisingly good uncle, though. To all of the kids, not just Yukina and Kurama's.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!

-Kaliea


	34. Kokomi's Territory

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

* * *

_Pandemonium_.

* * *

**Kokomi's Territory**

Urameshi jumped onto the table to reach his friend while everyone else shouted questions and orders and just general hysterical non-sense. Kusuo pressed Yuuta's face against his side, shielding him from the splashes of blood puddling on the table and contaminating the food. Beside him, Kokomi whimpered, but she rallied spectacularly by jumping onto the table.

She opened her territory.

The difference was stark. Kokomi was naturally beautiful, even with her territory closed, but feeling her territory open was powerful enough to stagger even Kusuo. She flared the intensity, glowing like a lighthouse on a stormy coastline. The room went instantly silent as scrambling, screaming bodies froze in place to stare at Kokomi's luminescent form.

"Calm down!" Kokomi said, her territory so intense, those caught in it couldn't even breathe. "Kuwabara-san is obviously very injured and you all screaming at him isn't helping!"

Silence followed her pronouncement. No one moved a muscle until her territory wavered, and Kokomi wavered with it. Kusuo felt the downward drop of her psychic energy—almost as if her blood-sugar had plummeted—and was on his feet with his arms open in time to catch her as she listed backward in the most beautiful faint Kusuo had ever witnessed.

Her territory was still open, and maxed out as it was, it was leeching power from her like water through sieve.

"Shit! Kokomi!" Kusuo shook her. If she didn't wake up long enough to close her territory, she would drain her energy dry! "Kokomi!"

"Ani!" Yuuta wailed, tears pouring down his chubby cheeks. "Is she dead? Is Ane dead? Anikiii!"

"She's not dead, Yuuta!"

_She's not allowed to die, dammit_!

"Saiki-san," Natsuko's soft voice at his elbow made Kusuo jump. He hadn't sensed her coming. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged him around. Her right hand was held out and glowing with a brilliant gold energy. "Let me."

She pressed her glowing palm against Kokomi's forehead, and the oppressive pressure vanished as Natsuko slammed Kokomi's territory closed. A collective gasp went through the room as those not immune—and even they, if Kusuo's own experience was anything to go by—coughed and wheezed as they regained control of their lungs.

Out of everyone, Urameshi and Koenma were the only one who seemed entirely unaffected. Koenma had a pale amber glow around his body as he knelt on the table by Urameshi, whose whole body was now covered in black tribal tattoos that ran from his forehead and down his shirt all the way to the backs of his hands and the tops of his feet. He was also glowing a faint red as the two men worked first-aid on Kuwabara and the blue-haired man he dragged through the portal with him.

"Shit! Botan! Yukina!" Urameshi called, waving them onto the table with one bloody hand. "He's hemorrhaging!"

The two women leapt into action, Yukina's pale, fragile expression shifting to something hard and determined.

"Natsuko; Nadeshiko," she said, and her daughter and recovering niece snapped to attention, Nadeshiko with a weak cough. "We need Kurama-san. _Now_."

Natsuko moved away from Kusuo and Kokomi and held out her hand to Yamato. The two grasped hands and closed their eyes—though the action was redundant in Natsuko's case.

"Saiki-san," Keiko said from behind Kusuo's shoulder. He jumped at her unexpected voice and jerked around to face her. She had the youngest children gathered around her—the long-haired Urameshi twin, Yuuko, and Yukina's son Yukito were both sobbing and clutching hands. Reiko, the short-haired twin, had a wobbly lip, but she wasn't crying as she held Yuuta's left hand tightly in her right.

Kusuo nodded at Keiko—it was obvious what she was planning to say—and lifted Kokomi into his arms.

"Hairo," Kusuo called. Of all this friends, Hairo was the only one mostly unaffected by Kokomi's Pretty Girl Strike™.

"Yeah, Kusuo?"

Kusuo jerked his chin toward the chaos on the table as Botan and Yukina worked to save Kuwabara's life. "Keep me posted on that. I need to take care of this."

"Th-this?!" Toritsuka screeched, his eyes still slightly glazed as he rubbed a line of drool from his lips with the back of his fist. "Don't call the beauteously angelic Teruhashi-sama something so crass as 'this,' you bastard!"

"Shut up, moron." Kusuo shifted his grip on Kokomi and strode from the make-shift dining room with Keiko herding distraught children behind him.

Yuuta clung to Kusuo's pants with the hand not holding Reiko's, still sobbing softly but with no way to wipe his tears. They reached Kusuo's set of rooms first, and Keiko hurried forward to open the door since Kusuo had his hands full. She looked between Kusuo and Yuuta with an expression of saddened compassion.

"Would you like me to watch over Yuuta-kun, Saiki-san?"

Instead of answer her, Kusuo shifted Kokomi to a more comfortable position in his arms and looked down at Yuuta with a quirked eyebrow. "Yuuta, do you want to stay with me and Kokomi or go with your friends and Keiko-san?"

"Y-you and Ane, Aniki," Yuuta said. He sniffled and looked back at Reiko, patting her hand. "Thank's Rei-rei. I'm gonna stay here."

Reiko nodded and rubbed at her reddened eyes with one hand, still clinging to Yuuta with the others. "Big brother is super brave, Yuu-chan. He'll protect you."

Yuuta's smile was shaky but sincere. "Yeah."

Forcing down the blush scorching his ears, Kusuo turned abruptly to lay Kokomi on their shared futon. Fortunately, she always folded it down before heading in for dinner, so he didn't have to worry about wrestling it open with Kokomi in his arms.

"Call if you need anything, Saiki-san," Keiko said. He glanced back at her and nodded his thanks. She sent him an encouraging smile before herding the children back into the hall and sliding the bedroom door closed.

Kusuo's shoulders slumped with a sigh. Kokomi's intensified territory had left him with a pounding headache, and he rubbed at his forehead with this fingers even as he tucked her in with his other hand. Yuuta, thank goodness, seemed unaffected by Teruhashi's display. It seemed that even if everyone else was drawn in—however much or little—children were still entirely immune.

Kneeling by the futon, Yuuta clutched Kokomi's hand, his face pale, with an expression of fearful hope. Kusuo had to detach Yuuta's grip twice as he changed Kokomi out of her miko robes and into a sleeping yukata. Yuuta didn't protest, but each time he took her hand back, he held onto it even tighter.

"Yuuta," Kusuo said, dropping a hand on the boy's bare head. "Kokomi will be fine."

Yuuta nodded vaguely, but he didn't look away from Kokomi's sleeping face or loosen his grip on her hand. Kusuo sighed but let the boy alone for the time being. Standing up from his aching knees, Kusuo pulled off his shirt to change into his own sleeping clothes.

_What happens now_? Kusuo wondered as he crossed to the corner sink to wash his sweaty face. It was good that Kuwabara was back—they would need as many available fighters as possible—but what did Akemi Homura mean when she said she had 'found them'? Yamato and Natsuko had insisted since the first day that the temple was untraceable from the outside, and even if it was somehow found, there were wards surrounding the entire compound that would keep anyone not expressly invited inside firmly on the outside.

But Akemi Homura didn't seem frustrated or angry when she spoke. If anything, her pronouncement that Yuuta wait for her sounded sincere. Firm. _Knowing_.

_We're out of time_, Kusuo thought, gritting his teeth as he scrubbed at his face with both hands. The cold water was a shock against his skin, but he relished it. There wouldn't be any sleep for him tonight.

"Aniki?"

Kusuo turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry his face. Scrubbing the water from his forehead he turned to Yuuta, head tilted in question, and said, "Yeah?"

"That…that mean lady is the one who took mommy and daddy away, isn't she?" Yuuta didn't look up as he spoke, keeping his focus entirely on Kokomi. "She's the reason they're dead."

A sharp pang lanced through Kusuo's heart, but he couldn't lie. Not about this. "Yes, Yuuta. She's the one responsible."

Kusuo expected the boy to start crying again, but he didn't. He just nodded once—as if he'd expected that all along—and clutched Kokomi's hand tighter.

"Is she gonna make you and Ane disappear too, Aniki?"

"No," Kusuo said, his voice sharp and firm as he tossed his wet towel into the hamper beside the sink. He crossed to the bed and knelt beside Yuuta, resting a hand atop his messy green hair. "Kokomi and I aren't going anywhere. And we won't let you go anywhere either."

The fear and trust in Yuuta's eyes was so intense and deep as he looked up, that Kusuo almost wished the boy _would_cry. At least the tears would vail Yuuta's raw pain.

Unable to help himself, Kusuo reached out and wrapped his arms around Yuuta, drawing the boy against his bare chest. Yuuta didn't hesitate to fling his arms around Kusuo's neck, burying his face there as he regulated his quickening breaths. Kusuo rubbed soothing circles against the boy's back and pressed a kiss to his hair. Despite spending the whole day playing with his friends, Yuuta still smelled clean and fresh and just the slightest bit like Kokomi, who had probably spent who knows how long cuddling the boy on her lap as they played hand-games on the engawa.

It was something the pair did regularly back home when Yuuta came over for dinner—something that became more and more common as Iridatsu Kouta and his wife, Hitomi, took the extra time to become reacquainted. Their marriage had never been what Kusuo would term troubled, but they weren't anywhere close to the lovey-dovey couple his parents were—_Had been_. In the time since Yuuta's birth, they had simply drifted apart as Hitomi was busy running the house and Kouta progressively more and more busy with work. That was the main reason the two had decided to take a cruise that summer—so they would have more time to get back to being a couple and not just two people who happened to share a house and a child.

_And now they're dead_. Kusuo clutched Yuuta tighter, his brow furrowing over his closed eyes as he tried to erase the mental images playing in his head. He wasn't psychic anymore, but he'd been psychic long enough to know what happened to the human body when it was flash-heated to thousands of degrees celsius.

Kokomi groaned, and Kusuo loosened his grip on Yuuta to look down. Her face scrunched up lightly before she opened her large, indigo eyes and slowly blinked. She took a moment to orient herself before her eyes lighted on Kusuo and Yuuta. She smiled gently and pushed slowly into a sitting position, though even that slight movement was enough to make her wince. Kusuo released Yuuta with one arm to slide it behind Kokomi's back to prop her up.

"Easy," Kusuo said, positioning himself partially behind her so she could slump against his shoulder. He still had Yuuta against his other side, but the boy quickly shifted to give his Ane plenty of room. "You drained your energy back there almost completely. It will be a while before you've generated enough back to move around normally."

Closing her eyes with a huff, Kokomi pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. "That was so stupid of me. I'm already pathetic enough without overusing the one thing about me that _isn't_ useless."

"Stop that." Kusuo jostled her lightly with his shoulder until she squinted up at his annoyed glare. "You're not useless."

"Are you okay, Ane?" Yuuta asked, shifting on Kusuo's lap so he could take Kokomi's face into both of his pudgy little hands. She managed a small smile for him.

"I'm fine, Yuu-chan. Just tired, is all."

Yuuta frowned and leaned down to press his forehead against hers, checking her temperature the way Kokomi always did for him. Kusuo cracked a small smile at the please blush on Kokomi's cheeks as Yuuta hummed.

"You don't feel hot, so I guess that's okay." He looked up a Kusuo, still frowning. "She'll be okay, right Aniki?"

"Aa." Kusuo ruffled Yuuta's hair. "She'll be just fine."

There was a knock on the door frame, and Kusuo jolted at the unexpected intrusion. Yuuta stiffened in his arms and clutched at Kokomi with frantic fingers.

"Aniki—"

"It's fine, Yuuta." Kusuo slid the boy off his lap and brushed Kokomi's bangs out of her eyes. "I'll be right back."

She nodded, folding Yuuta into her weakened embrace as Kusuo stood and crossed to the door. He felt his spirit energy pooling into his finger-tip, though he knew such a precaution was likely unnecessary. Still, better to be safe than sorry. He slid the door open.

"Yo, Kusuo," Hairo said, smiling as he lifted a hand in greeting. Kusuo released the energy building for a spirit gun and stepped back, letting Hairo into the room.

The exuberant class rep hesitated only a second before accepting the invitation without a word. He grinned at Kokomi and waved.

"Hey, Teruhashi. Glad to see you're up. How are you feeling?"

"Just tired, Hairo-kun," she said, smiling. "What happened after I passed out?"

Hairo crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I came here to discuss." He glanced at Kusuo and continued, "Apparently, Yamato-san and Natsuko-san were able to combine their powers to locate and call Kurama-sensei. After that, Natsuko-san opened a gate for him and pulled him into the compound. He helped Urameshi-san and Koenma-sama move Kuwabara-sensei and Yanagisawa-san to one of the back rooms to recover."

Kusuo quirked an eyebrow. "Yanagisawa?"

"Ah, right." Hairo put his hands on either side of his head and lifted them, as if taking off a helmet—_Or miming a ridiculous, broom-styled hair cut_. "He's the blue-haired guy Kuwabara-sensei brought back. You know, that one psychic from the videos who can change his appearance."

"Aa," Kusuo said, remembering the only two moments (so far) that Yana-san had used his powers. First, to impersonate Kuwabara during Urameshi's fake kidnapping at Genkai's command and second, to take the form of an ill nurse during Urameshi's fight with Doctor during the Chapter Black arc.

_Is it even okay to think of Urameshi's actual life in terms of 'arcs'_? Kusuo wondered, but he quickly put that thought aside to consider later. Or not at all. He wasn't picky.

"Anyway," Hairo dropped his hands, a worried glint in his eye, "Botan-san, Yukina-san, and Kurama-sensei have Kuwabara-sensei and Yanagisawa-san stable and awake, so Urameshi-sensei sent me to find you. Apparently, Kuwabara-sensei learned some stuff about Dark Reunion while he was held captive. He wants to tell the five of us first."

Kusuo knew right off that 'the five of us' meaning him, Hairo, Shun, Kuboyasu, and Nendou, but Kokomi seemed to have missed that fact because she was already throwing off the futon's summer duvet.

"Kokomi," Kusuo said, crossing the room to press a hand down on her shoulder. "This is between us Reborn. You stay here with Yuuta. I'll fill you in when I get back."

A mutinous expression settled on Kokomi's face, but fortunately, she was too tired to really argue. Huffing a sigh, she nodded and settled back onto the futon. Kusuo cast a glance over his shoulder at Hairo.

"I want someone in here with her while I'm gone."

Hairo nodded. "I figured as much. I grabbed Yumehara and Mera on my way over. They went to change first, but they should be here—"

Another knock on the door, but this time, it slid open before Kusuo could answer.

"Hey guys!" Chiyo said, one hand raised in enthusiastic greeting. "I'm—uwaaa!"

She spun around, her hands over her face as she blushed so hotly, Kusuo could imagine steam puffing from her ears.

"Kusuo-kun!" She said, her shoulders hunched as she covered her face. "You—you're—Sh-shirt!"

Kusuo looked down. Sure enough, he'd forgotten to finish dressing for bed.

"Ah. Sorry Chiyo-san." He looked around for the shirt he'd discarded. Kokomi held it up to him with a teasing grin, and he nodded to her in thanks before pulling it over his head. "It's safe now."

Chiyo peeked between her fingers first before letting out a huge sigh of relief and dropping her hands all together. "Thank goodness!" She shot Kokomi a frown and said, "How come you're fine, Kokomi?"

Kokomi shrugged. "This is hardly the first time I've seen Kusuo without his shirt."

Confusion flitted across Chiyo's face before Mera leaned over to whisper something in the girl's ear. Chiyo's expression didn't change, but the alternating pale-red wave that washed over her face was something to behold.

"I…I see…" Chiyo said, though what exactly she 'saw' would have to remain a mystery for a while longer. Kusuo had some place to be.

"Are you two okay with keeping an eye on Kokomi for me?" Kusuo asked. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Of course!" Mera flashed a thumbs-up at him, her glasses glinting as she grinned. "I've had plenty of good food today, too, so I'm all powered up, just in case!"

"Aa." Kusuo sincerely hoped 'just in case' would remain exactly that, but it was a relief to know she was at full-power anyway. "I'll be back then."

Kokomi lifted Yuuta's hand to wave for him, the boy indulging her by not fighting back.

"We'll be waiting," she said.

Kusuo stared at her a moment longer, taking in her disheveled hair and bleary eyes, Yuuta's face of tried tears and weary smile. Evening sunlight—gray and dim—fell over the pair as the over-cast sky obscured the full silver moon. Everything about this moment was so utterly domestic it made Kusuo ache for his psychic powers back so he could take a mental picture and hold on to it forever.

"Aa," he said at last before turning around and following Hairo from the room before he lost his will to leave at all.

* * *

Kaliea: I updated much sooner than I thought I would, but I really needed a break from work and school, so this was the result :) We're moving toward the end of Act 3, now, with the brief reprieve Kusuo and his friends enjoyed coming to an abrupt end. Things will only get more intense as the count-down to Homura's arrival coils tighter and tighter.

We've also moved into "pseudo-planned" territory. I have several ideas of things that I want to happen in the story as I build toward the ending I have planned, but a lot of the moment-to-moment stuff will be discovery writing. I definitely want to bring in more of the gang as a whole, but with Kusuo largely on his own for training, I don't know how well or often I'll be able to pull that in. Still, I'll do my best :)

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!

-Kaliea


	35. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

* * *

Hey guys. I _really_ hoped I would make it through this story without needing to post a note like this. Unfortunately, something major happened in my family that has necessitated me taking some time off from this fic.

So, the month of July was designated as "vacation month" for my family. My brothers (I have six), my sister (just the one), my parents, all my in-laws (five sisters-in-law, so far), and their kids (three nephews, two nieces, and counting) all went up to Idaho and Oregon for a family reunion, and on our last day in Idaho, we went out on ATVs and dirt bikes. It was an absolute blast, but right at the end, my mom (who has never ridden an ATV before) lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a deep crack in the very dry ground. The ATV flipped forward and rolled over her before coming to a stop several feet away.

Everyone there, including me, watched it happen, and yes, it was the most horrible thing I have ever seen. I thought for sure she was dead. Fortunately, she wasn't; she wasn't even unconscious. My dad and brothers helped her into my car, and I drove with my mom and one of my sisters-in-law who—thank God—had nursing training to the nearest hospital, which was forty-minutes away (which, by the way, is extremely stupid.; if people go out on those trails regularly, you would think there would be at least an urgent care closer by).

Anyway, very long story short, my mom was hospitalized for a week for a broken clavicle, cracked ribs, and severe hematoma running up her left leg. She was also stuck in Idaho with my dad while my siblings and I had to relocate to Oregon because there was no place for us to stay in Idaho. It was all very harrowing, to say the least.

So, the point to all of this is that I am planning to move home for the fall semester (which I am fortunately able to do online) to help take care of my mom. For any normal person, just my dad and kid brother (16) would be fine, but my mom is the president of a national organization and a semi-public figure, so I'm going to be doing a lot of work travel with her as her PA for the next few months. The travel—on top of my schooling, moving, being published, working on the next book in my series being published, as well as my actual job that I get paid for by the hour—is going to keep me very, _very_ busy for the next several months.

That said, I am _not_ abandoning this fic! I absolutely swear! I just wanted to warn you that my posting may be even more sporadic in the coming months. I do hope to post at least one more chapter before school starts in September, but after that, chapters may be a month or two in between.

I apologize to those of you who are enjoying this story. It has been a blast to write, and I hope to finish it as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience in the interim.

All the best,

Kaliea


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